The Story of the Recalled Souls
by JessyG
Summary: This is a reincarnation fiction about the Saiyuki gang. Goku is a runaway girl, living in an empty sewer pipe when Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo find her. The three of them also being runaways. Join them in their new journey together. Re-writingChapters
1. Lost and Found

The Story of the Recalled Souls

Chapter one: Lost and found

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki, or Journey to the West.

It had been four months already. Four long, free and wonderful months away from the prison of her family's home. Four months ago, the dark brown haired girl had been a chubby 17 year old living with her wealthy parents, younger brother and younger sister. She had been rather popular all throughout high school, and even after she graduated she retained a bit of fame among her peers when she was attending college. And, four months ago, she had just finished her first semester…badly, passing only two classes, much to her parent's dismay.

Her mother and father were, needless to say, quite angry and disappointed with her horrid grades and immaturity, but what had displeased them the most was their daughter's reaction to her failure, which was her being absolutely unfazed. It was as though she was _happy_ with her futile attempts at college. And the truth was actually this: yes, the girl was a bit unhappy that she had failed her classes. But she wasn't going to let it or her parents bring her down. She was quite content with the bit of freedom she had. She was happy being able to see her friends everyday and she was happy to be out of the house.

Her parents berated her, citing that she was irresponsible and she was abusing their kindness. Alright, perhaps she was. But, so what? They had never before given her the chance to enjoy her childhood or her life, they only wanted her to be a perfectly trained monkey for them. All her free time was to be used for school. They gave her every opportunity to be great, to be perfect, and to be their princess. They placed her in a Heaven, of sorts.

She hated that fucking Heaven. It was boring.

As ironic as it sounds, that's how she pictured it. Any escape into reality, as cruel as it may have been for her, was cherished. She enjoyed the sense of veracity that washed over her, enveloping her into a spontaneous world of wonder. It's what she loved. And it was one of the few things she wanted: happiness.

People may have said she couldn't handle reality, that she should just embrace the solitude her parents set for her. But it was hard to do so when she was always unconsciously resisting. At one point in her young life she allowed herself to become shallow and adjusted to the world her parents had made for her. She began to make good grades, and she began to see that her friends were nothing but losers with no future. She rid herself of them, much to her parent's approval.

But after a while, she started to recognize what a robot she was becoming. She was so ashamed of the monster that stared back at her from the mirror. She no longer saw the care-free monkey that she once was. So she lashed out again. She started to make a mess of everything in an attempt to shatter the mirror. And one day, she did so.

She was happy once again, she was so excited to be liberated from the Hell they called Heaven. It was brilliant. She was brilliant! The sky was brilliant! The souls of the world were brilliant! And she was so, very, very happy.

Her parents, however, were so angry with her. They were so livid that she was mucking things up, staining their once happy home. Her brother disagreed with them, finding himself in his own bind-wanting nothing more than to be rid of the family he had come to hate.

The only person who understood him was his big sister. She listened to him, she knew what it was like to be in his situation. But there was one big difference between the siblings. She didn't hate her family. She loved them. She was just thwarted by their refusal to accept her happiness.

Once, when her brother had tried to run away, like she had once done, she stopped him. She needed him to be strong for her. She needed him to be stable for her, if not for the rest of the family. Because she knew what she was had to do.

She was running away for good this time. She had run away once before when she was fourteen but because she was so young she had been easily found. This time, she would not be so easily discovered. She doubted her parents would want her back anyway. Not this time. Not since she was such a major "Disappointment."

So she picked a stormy night when she knew the thunder would mask her unsetting the alarm on the house, and another clap of thunder would hide the opening and closing of the front door as she fled into the rain in the middle of the night. Before she left, she left two notes. One of the letters was for her entire family and the other was specifically for her brother. In the letter, she asked him to be strong and that one day they would meet up again. She told him to keep in contact with her by e-mail. And she told him to not give up faith because God was watching over both of them.

She stuffed what she felt was important into a duffle bag: jewelry and other valuables that she could pawn off when needed. She took very few clothes, not wanting to keep herself tied down with too much load, she also took her drawing utensils. She could try to make a bit of money with her art skills.

The girl knew it would be a difficult way of life. But she could handle it. God would protect her. Besides, she felt that she _had_ to do it. She felt as if there were a tight, invisible rope pulling her away, and she could only follow it.

Thus her present status four months later.

She stood in a large store, eyes on the fruit before her. She had no money because she had run out of paper so she couldn't draw pictures for anyone, she had also run out of things to pawn and it was too risky to steal valuables or money from stores or people. They could be traced much too easily. And she absolutely _refused_ to pawn off the gold chain around her neck. It was too precious, too full of memories and spiritual faith.

The girl glanced at the security guards as she loaded up the clear, plastic bag with fruit. Three green apples, four peaches, a pound of cherries, and a pear, it was all she could fit in the bag. She bit her tongue and looked around again. She spotted a large pyramid-stack of cans a few feet behind the guard. She waited for the guard to look away and without any hesitation she threw an apple at the cans, knocking them down. The guard turned towards the fallen cans and the other guards rushed foreword to help pick them up.

The girl took the opportunity to bolt out of the store with the bag of fruit in hand. But as she ran outside, she ran right into another guard who had been observing the whole time from just outside the door. He grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her close, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He growled, spraying spittle on her face, she groaned in disgust and kneed him in the crotch. He released his grip on her arm as he dropped to the ground.

She took off at a faster pace, accidentally knocking groceries from a woman's arms. The woman screamed in outrage but the girl couldn't stop, "Sorry, ma'am!" She called over her shoulder as she continued to run. She didn't stop running until she was about a quarter of a mile away, she headed towards the thick woods that would lead to an old country road where she would stay the night.

She gave a small, adrenaline-pumped laugh of triumph for getting away with the food. She hadn't been forced to confront a guard of any type in a long time, so the excitement had her heart pumping hard. She sighed as elation passed, leaving her exhausted. She was thin now, her baby fat having been replaced with lithe muscles from having to outrun police and guards in the past.

The young girl plopped to the ground and took an enormous bite from the pear, letting the juices run down her face. Her honey-colored eyes lifted upwards, the clouds were a lilac color against the yellow-orange sky. It would be dark soon. She had to hurry towards the road before it became too dark for her to see. Finishing off her pear she grunted and stood up, popping her neck to the side before heading north towards the road.

How many times had she slept in the ditch on that road? As she walked she counted the number of times on her fingers…she ran out of fingers. "Over ten times…" she frowned and looked back up towards the sky. The clouds were gathering. It was going to rain again.

Luckily, there was an empty sewer pipe under the old country road that she could take shelter in. She saw lightning in the distance. It would be another bad storm but, being April, it was expected. A small smile crept to her lips. Despite not having a real home to go to, or anyone to talk to, she was still happy. She loved the struggle for survival she had to face every day. She was truly content.

It took fifteen minutes to get to the head of the empty road, and it took another twenty minutes to get to the sewer pipe. A light drizzle began to fall while on the way, it was warm fortunately, so when the heavy rain started she could perhaps bathe and wash her clothes. She had a large pail and some soap in her duffel bag hidden in the cesspool.

By the time she reached her destination, the rain was pouring heavily. She ran to her shelter and shook herself like a dog. She giggled gleefully, remembering the wolves she had once seen in the woods, playing with each other in the large puddles. It had been really cute to see such a happy family.

She began to strip down to her under-clothes, a tank top and boy-shorts, and then she ran out under the rain with a bar of soap and began to bathe. Humming a light tune, she closed her eyes, blinding her from the lights approaching from the distance. She finished bathing and then disappeared back into the pipe before she dragged the empty bucket under the rain.

But there was something moving in the dark, coming towards her. Her eyes narrowed, the moving thing didn't stir like an animal. It was a person. She glared and moved back, and grabbed her red, fighting rod that she had stolen from a pawn shop three months ago. She would have bought it but she would never have been able to earn $1,000.

She was deadly with the powerful rod in her small hands, she knew how to wield the weapon very well. She would kill the person if they proved to be a threat, it wouldn't be the first time. When the person came closer she jumped out and thrusted the rod forward, the person jumped back and held their hands up.

"Hey, hey! What the hell, man?!" It was a man who shouted "I'm not going to hurt you, my friends and I are just lost. We saw you come down here and thought you could give us directions." The girl gave a feral glare.

"Go away." She slunk back into the pipe and sat down "Leave me alone."

"But, hey! Come one, man, don't leave. We just need some help."

"Go away." She repeated "Or I'll kill you."

"Joe, what the hell is taking so fucking long? We're getting soaked to the fucking bone up here!" Came another man's voice, though this one sounded extremely angry and farther away. It was difficult to hear because of the pounding rain.

"Don't get pissy with me, fucker!" Joe snapped back "This kid just tried to attack me, I think he may be '_fenal'_ or whatever…"

"It's '_feral'_, you nimrod." Came the other voice again, it sounded close. _Too_ close. The girl under the pipe slunk away even more, holding herself tightly. As the new man stepped in front of the pipe, the girl noticed he was wearing bright colors, he stepped inside slowly. It was too dark for her to see him clearly. But she could tell he was bright…although she didn't think he was just physically light. His soul seemed to shine, too.

She closed her eyes and turned away. The sound of a lighter clicking into life made her turn back towards him. He was lighting a cigarette. The soft glow drew her towards him, she crawled slowly. "Hey, kid." He said. His voice was slightly gruff, but obviously young. He couldn't be older than twenty…maybe twenty one. "What are you doing in here?"

"I…I'm not sure." She felt confused and suddenly tired.

"You a runaway?" She nodded but quickly realized he couldn't see it.

"Yeah," she replied softly.

"How old are you?"

"I turn eighteen in June…"

"Jesus, you really are a child." He began to play with his lighter "You can't stay in this shit hole. It's disgusting."

"It's never been used…" the girl replied. "It was left here a long time ago and then cement was poured over it for the road." The man frowned slightly, although she couldn't see it.

"You're a girl, aren't you?" He asked after a moment.

"Mmhm." The girl mumbled, she heard the man make an impatient noise.

"Come on," he said, holding his hand out, the girl could see it "You can come with us. We're going somewhere dry."

"It's dry here."

"But where we're going there are showers." He still had his hand held out "Come on." Normally, the girl would have screamed and busted the man's face in with her metal rod but for some reason, she trusted the stranger. She wanted him to take her from the hole. She felt as though she _knew_ him. She pulled her duffel bag and her fruit bag towards her with her left hand and took the offered hand with her right. It was warm, and callused.

She recognized the calluses as belonging to a gun wielder. But, despite the potential danger, she felt only comfort and familiarity. As though they had known each other for a very long time.

She held the man's hand tightly as he helped her up the steep side of the ditch, the rain made it difficult to keep footing. The rain died down and she could make out a jeep of a dark color, perhaps green or black, with no top parked in the road. No wonder they were soaked. The man in the driver's seat stared inquiringly at the girl, who ignored him and continued to stare at the man holding her hand.

He had short blonde hair that was so very bright, even though it was damp. She wanted to grab it, and soak up all its warmth. But she had a feeling the man would get angry. He turned towards her, "You're going to sit in the back with Joe, alright?" Joe grinned.

"You're not going to kill me are you?" It was then the girl noticed she had been gripping the metal rod tightly. She blinked at it several times and then smiled back with a shake of her head.

"No, I won't. Just don't touch me." She answered calmly and allowed the blonde haired man to help her into the back seat. She refused to wear a seat belt, she sat on her knees on the seat and stared back at the ditch. She doubted she would ever have to go back there.

"Hey, kid…" Joe started, the girl ignored him and continued to stare at the ditch, wondering if she had forgotten anything "Hey, kid. Hey, _you_." Joe frowned. "Hey, you, **little** **monkey**." The girl snapped her head towards him.

"I'm not monkey!" she growled "I'm Goku! Get it right, dummy!"

"Well, Goku!" The driver smiled, he was facing her from the front seat "I'm Cho, and this is San Marcus." He motioned to the blonde man. Goku crinkled her nose.

"I don't like that name!" she decided "I'm giving you a new name!"

"What? Why?" Joe laughed, Goku stared at him too.

"I wanna give all of you new names! Okay?" Goku giggled and planted a hand on the top of Joe's head "Gojyo!"

"Whuh?" Gojyo whined, Cho chuckled until Goku's small hand rested atop his head as well.

"You're Hakkai, now!" Hakkai smiled, he actually liked his new name. Goku moved on towards the other man "And you…you're Sanzo from now on, okay?" Sanzo shrugged and moved Goku's hand away.

"Whatever, doesn't matter to me. Never liked the old one anyway." He snorted.

"We all sort of needed new ones, eh, _Sanzo_?" Hakkai grinned "What about you Miss Goku? Don't you need a new name as well?"

"That **is** my new name, silly!" she replied, settling back down in her seat "So, where are we going?"

The three men exchanged glances "Well, that's the thing…" Hakkai started "We're lost, you see."

"Oh…What were you looking for?"

"A motel, actually." Goku grinned at his answer.

"I know where one is!" she laughed and then began to direct them…there was only one motel in the entire town. It was set in the west.

bang

AN: So, I had to edit this chapter. The errors were bugging me. I want to give a very special thanks to my best friend, and future business partner, Fire (aka Desolate Beauty). You are an absolute DOLL, thank you so much for your help, support and friendship. Oh, an kick ass stories, too. I heart you, dude.


	2. Monkey See, Monkey Do

The Story of the Recalled Souls

Chapter 2: Monkey Stay, Monkey Do

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or Journey to the West.

Bang

Goku bounced up and down merrily on the motel's dingy bed. "NOW THE WAR IS OVER, MUSSOLINI'S DEAD, HE WANT'S TO GO TO HEAVEN WITH A CROWN UPON HIS HEAD! BUT THE LORD SAYS 'NO.' HE'S GOT TO STAY BELOW! HE'S ALL DRESSED UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO!" she sang loud enough for Sanzo to hear in the shower, from where Sanzo smirked lightly.

He had been slightly concerned the child would behave like an untamed animal and lash out when they tried to get her into the motel room. But instead she had just clung to Sanzo like glue, refusing to room with Hakkai or Gojyo. He couldn't really understand why she had refused to room with Hakkai (as if he would have let her), because he was as good as they come (Maybe). Refusing to room with Joe, on the other hand Sanzo _could_ understand, that was just common sense. Joe was a fucking **perv.** "Or…_Gojyo now."_ He corrected himself mentally.

_"The new names fit us better than the other ones did._" He smirked again because for some reason the fresh names seemed somehow familiar. He turned off the shower and stepped out onto the dirty floor, grabbing his towel he quickly dried himself and put his clothes on, leaving his ruby rosary for last which he tucked under his shirt.

The rosary was one two things he still kept of the past, his memories being the second. Once he had been San Marcus Koumyou the adopted son of the high-esteemed Catholic Priest Koumyou. Sanzo opened the bathroom door and walked out, followed by a thick wave of steam. Goku smiled gleefully at him, though Sanzo was frowning slightly.

"Stop jumping on the bed." Goku stopped immediately and plopped down with a bounce. _"That worked well."_

"Hey Sanzo…" Goku whined lightly "I'm hungry." Sanzo cocked a golden brow and dug through his bag, the girl watched with interest and then was thrown a large box of Cheezits crackers. She squealed and tore the box open "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"They're yours."

"Yay!" Sanzo smirked again and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. He watched as Goku stuffed crackers into her mouth with a fervency he had never seen before in his entire life, even when he had gone on mission trips as a kid. None of those starving children had eaten like the monkey girl before him who was surprisingly not wasted-skinny. Despite the fact she had been living on the streets (or _under_ a _street_) by herself for four months.

She was in fact a lean and healthy looking child that stood a short four foot and eleven inches tall, she was tan (possibly of Hispanic race, though they had yet to ask) with honey-colored eyes and dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders in a layered style. Goku was as interesting looking as her name.

Sanzo glanced at the clock, it was three a.m. but Goku was acting as if it were three in the afternoon. Sanzo didn't feel tired either. It was like the girl's enthusiasm and energy were contagious. He rubbed the back of his neck and searched for an ashtray, when he found none he used the empty coffee pot, Goku stared at him quizzically but said nothing.

A soft knock on the door averted her attention from him, Hakkai poked his head in and smiled "Mar…Sanzo, could Gojyo and I speak with you?" he glanced at Goku "Privately?"

"I don't like secrets, just so ya know!" Goku informed with a small pout, Sanzo tapped the top of her head.

"Just a pow-wow. I'll be back in a few minutes." He replied smoothly before following Hakkai out the door. He stopped after he closed it pressed an ear to the door, the springs of the mattress groaned as the girl began to jump on the bed again. "I told her…" he would have opened the door and snapped at her had Hakkai not beckoned him into the room he and Gojyo were sharing.

Gojyo sat on the bed shirtless, smoking a cigarette and watching some hard-core porno-flick, Sanzo grimaced in disgust. "Turn that filth off."

"Aw, why?" Gojyo teased, blowing his cigarette smoke out in a lovely little circle while grinning shrewdly "Is the choir-boy of the group afraid of a little _carnal pleasure_?" Sanzo sneered and flicked his spent cigarette at the red-haired man who hissed in pain when it came into contact with his bare chest "That _hurts_, fucker!"

Sanzo ignored him and turned to Hakkai, he smiled at the blonde haired man with that "Ahaha, now, now." expression that always grated Sanzo's nerves. Setting most of his peevishness aside he asked the reason he was called. "Oh, well…" Hakkai started, clearing his throat "We, meaning Gojyo and I, were wondering what it is that you have planned to do with Goku?" Sanzo's eyes traveled from Hakkai to Gojyo and back again quickly.

"I'm not going to _fuck_ her if that's what you mean." Gojyo snorted but Sanzo ignored him "She's a kid who refuses to go home, she's to stay with us."

"I see. You don't think we should _send_ her home?" Hakkai inquired "She's only a child and if we were to be caught with her…the law here, Sanzo, isn't so lenient."

"People still get the chair here." Gojyo put in "Texas is fucking **nuts**. I am **not** going to have some faggot weave his way in and out of my Hershey highway in prison because some choir-boy decided to get his kicks from some little girl."

"Fuck you!" Sanzo snarled "First of all-the chair is not legal here, you fucking ass-wipe. And secondly, nobody would be 'weaving' anywhere near your ass. It'd be like throwing a hotdog down a fucking hallway anyway." Gojyo opened his mouth in retort but Hakkai cut him off.

"Sanzo," he said in that surprisingly patient tone that was now becoming more familiar "I am more than sure that your reasons for wanting to keep Goku with us have absolutely nothing to do with carnality," he glanced at Gojyo warningly "But you have to understand our concern, I'm positive that there are people out looking for her and to keep her would be a form of kidnapping. You see my point, don't you?"

Sanzo bit his tongue, yes he did see their point. He understood what the consequences would be should they be caught with an underage runaway, but for some reason…he really didn't care. For years Sanzo had been tormented with a constant nagging buzz in the back of his mind, but it was more than a buzz. It was almost like…a voice. And though it sounded insane, even to him, the voice seemed to stop when they happened upon Goku.

It was like Goku **was** the voice in the back of his mind that was constantly calling him, constantly asking for someone to find her. Through the voice Sanzo could depict emotions, mainly loneliness and every now and again happiness. Sometimes images would get through as well, though they were most often in Sanzo's dreams, but they were images none the less.

When Sanzo had first heard the voice it had been in the middle of mass at church, when he was fourteen, several months after his father's death. It had scared the shit out of him. He could never forget that day.

It was the midnight mass, the night before Christmas, he was standing behind the new priest along side the other alter boys when he heard a small whisper behind him. It was fleeting and brief but nonetheless there. He'd turned around and found no one, he glanced at the other boys who were all staring intently at the priest.

He had frowned and settled back into his bubble that blocked the priest's droning. The voice spoke again, louder this time making Sanzo hiss out loud _"Shut up."_ The other boys frowned at him.

The voice called out again in an extremely frightened tone, so frightened was the voice that it sent torrents of shivers down his spine. Then someone was shaking Sanzo, it was the bishop frowning and handing him a large candle "Walk, boy, walk!"

Sanzo had blinked rapidly and nodded curtly, giving the bishop a slight sneer for touching him. The voice did not remain silent. It continued to blabber even more than the priest, never pausing and growing ever louder. It had made Sanzo's concentration on the task at hand become much more difficult than it should have been. He was to lead the other Alter-boys down the long walkway, out the large oak doors and into the antechamber, simple as that.

But to Sanzo it hadn't been that simple with the voice screaming in his head, sweat trickled down the boy's neck and he found the temperature in the room unbearable. And then suddenly the voice screamed shrilly and an image of a large, fear-provoking Minotaur flashed across Sanzo's sight, blinding him from everything around him.

He screamed and dropped the large candle he had been holding to cover his ears, trying to block out the sound. "NO!" he had screamed "Go away, go away, go away, GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT THIS! DAD! DAD!" He had fallen to the floor, the people in the church were screaming and pointing, someone yelled that he was possessed and someone else tried to touch him but he lashed out.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He continue to shriek and writhe even after one of the bishops had carried him out of the chapel, and he didn't stop until the voice quieted down, becoming a continuous low buzz.

That had been the first time Sanzo had come into contact with the voice but it certainly wasn't the last time he'd reacted to it. The last time had been a few months ago, four months ago, to be exact. The voice had been excited and bubbly and altogether nervous and Sanzo had almost gouged out his eyes at the images. They weren't painful or frightening, but they had been overwhelming.

However all of that stopped when they found Goku only a few hours before. The voice wasn't just quiet, it was **gone**. It had to be because the lowest the voice ever got was a whispering whirr. Now, however, there was nothing but silence.

Beautiful, blissful, orgasmic silence.

"Sanzo?" Hakkai's voice snapped Sanzo from his thoughts (when was the last time he had even been able to have clear thoughts?)

"She's staying with us." Sanzo confirmed flatly, lighting up another cigarette "There's nothing you can say or do that will make me change my mind. You can leave if you want, but the kid is staying with me."

Gojyo and Hakkai exchanged glances before either of them spoke "Well, Sanzo, if that's what you truly want…" Hakkai replied gently "I'll stay with you."

"Yeah, I guess I'll stay, too." Gojyo put in "Nothin' much to do back home anyway." He grinned "How old is Goku anyway?"

"Seventeen." Sanzo replied "Stay the fuck away from her. I find your cock exposed to her and I'll rip it off." And with that he walked out, slamming the door behind him. Gojyo and Hakkai remained silent and then they heard Sanzo's voice from the room next to them.

_"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STOP JUMPING ON THE BED?!"_

Bang, bang, That awful sound…bang bang.

AN: Thanks for reading. Please Review!


	3. The Journey Begins

The Story of the Recalled Souls

Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or Journey to the West.

-Bang-

Sanzo smoked his third cigarette of the hour and stared bitterly out the window. It was raining hard again, and since Hakkai's car (which Goku dubbed "Hakuryu" because of a white dragon bumper sticker) had no roof they were unable to drive in the rain. It was _frustrating_. But Hakkai absolutely refused to buy a roof for the damned jeep "Oh now, Sanzo." He would say "There's no use in wasting money when we have a lovely blue tarp to protect Hakuryu from water damage."

Thus their present position: the **same** **roach motel** they had been staying at for the past **three** days. The rain refused to let up and Sanzo was in more of a fowl mood than ever because of it, which is why he stood at the window glaring at the downpour, chain smoking and sulking. Although if anyone dare _say_ he was sulking they might loose a nut…or if Goku said anything she would lose…something else.

_"Speaking of Goku…_" he glanced around the room, though the TV was on she was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't in the bathroom either when he checked. With an exasperated grunt he walked next door to Gojyo and Hakkai's room and marched in without knocking.

"HEY!" Gojyo snapped "I don't care if you think we're friends or not but you can't just come in here whenever you fucking feel like it, asshole." Sanzo sneered at him.

"I can do what I want since **I'm** paying for this goddamn room, **plus** you have my monkey."

"I'm not a monkey, Sanzo!" Goku answered matter-of-factly, Sanzo turned towards her. She was sitting on Hakkai's bed with the other brunette with dice in her hand, Hakkai smiled warmly at him.

"Feeling better, Marcus?" he asked politely.

"His name is _Sanzo_ now, Hakkai!" Goku corrected.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Old habits die hard." He smiled "Are you feeling better, _Sanzo_?"

Sanzo snorted and stared at Goku again "What are you teaching her?"

"_I'm_ teaching _him_ Craps!" Goku answered gleefully "He's pretty good, look at all the money he's won!" She motioned towards the large pile of bills lying freely beside Hakkai.

"Where did you get that money?" Sanzo narrowed his eyes.

"Uh…" she glanced sideways at Gojyo "No…where…" Sanzo 'hn'd' and told her to come back to the room when she was done and he left.

Goku cocked her head to the side curiously a frown forming across her soft face "Is Sanzo angry about something?" Hakkai chuckled and shook his head.

"He always gets like this when it rains…or when we're in a town too long. And well…we're sort of in both situations." He replied.

"**Why** does he get like that?"

"Oh…well…I'm not sure about that."

"Because he needs to get **laid**." Gojyo replied from the other side of the room, Hakkai hid his laughter behind a slender hand.

"You're so gross, Gojyo!" Goku growled while throwing a pillow at the red-haired man across the room "Just because you're a horn-ball doesn't mean everyone else is, too." Gojyo raised his eyebrows.

"Oh-ho!" he sneered "So the monkey is a little nun!" Goku threw a pillow at him.

"I am not a nun!"

"That's right, _good monkey_. I didn't say you were a 'nun' I said you were a '_**little**_ nun,' emphasis on the _**'little.'**_"

"Shut up you…you…"

"_'You_…' **sexy beast of a man?**"

"YOU **PERVY WATER SPRITE**!"

_Whoa_.

The three of them sat in stunned silence as if lightning had just struck the middle of the room. Those words had just been _way_ too familiar, like they had been spoken before. Goku set down the dice and stood up quickly. "I'm going back to my room." Hakkai cleared his throat and tried to give her the money back "Oh, keep it. I took it from Gojyo's wallet anyway."

"WHAT?!" Gojyo screamed but the dark-haired girl had already left and was receding back to her room.

-Bang, Bang…That awful sound. Bang, Bang…-

Sanzo was standing at the window again when Goku returned to the room, still taken aback by what had occurred in the other room. Sanzo caught her confused expression and asked what was wrong. She blinked rapidly and shrugged, not saying anything as she lied onto her bed face down.

They were quiet for a long time with the only sound coming from the cartoon show playing on the TV, although neither of them was watching. Sanzo had his back turned to the girl but he could tell she was staring intently at his back. He noticed several indistinct thoughts flooding his mind but these thoughts were definitely not his own. Somehow the low and (thankfully) temporary hum of ideas were familiar and it was that same gut feeling that told him they belonged to Goku.

Sanzo turned around slowly and locked onto her golden gaze. Her eyes spoke curiosity and wonder and something else that he was unable to recognize. "Do you have something to say, Goku?" he asked quietly, she blinked slowly several times before she let a lazy grin crawl across her face.

"Nooo…" she replied slyly, Sanzo cocked a brow and his violet eyes narrowed.

"Liar." Goku grinned even wider and rolled onto her back, never breaking eye contact with the violet eyed man. "You don't like secrets and I don't like lies."

Goku's grin dropped and she sighed "I'm not **trying** to lie…" she said softly "I was just wondering…"

"Wondering what?"

"Wondering why you're letting me stay with you." Okay, simple enough.

"I'm letting you stay with us because you're child who doesn't need to be running around stealing and living off scraps in a shitty drain under a road." He answered flatly, Goku raised her eyebrows.

"First of all the drain had **never been used **and secondly are you going to tell me why you're really letting me stay?" Okay, not so simple. Sanzo broke eye contact and rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you feel it, too?"

Sanzo gulped and stared fixedly at her "Feel what?"

Goku sighed and played with a loose thread on the comforter "Don't you feel like this has all happened before? The names I picked for you guys…when I gave them to you it was like right off the top of my head. I've never even **heard** those names before. But it just feels like I've known the names for a long time. Like this has all happened before."

Sanzo stared at her silently, watching her play with the thread. So she had felt it too, the familiarity of it all. Goku looked back up at him again "Don't you feel the same way?" she asked in a small voice. Yeah, he did feel it. His eyes told her so. This had happened before. Neither of them knew how or when but it had happened. It was like a bad case of déjà vu that none of them could snap out of.

Later that night when the four of them were all eating dinner Goku brought the subject up again, Gojyo and Hakkai agreed. "Maybe it's that, uh '_reanimation'_ or whatever those Buddhists believe in?" Gojyo put in, Goku frowned while Hakkai and Sanzo sighed.

"I don't think that's right, Gojyo." She replied.

"That's because it's _not_." Sanzo snapped, he was really irritated by the perverted man's illiteracy "It's **reincarnation, **you moron. And I don't believe in it, I'm Catholic so let's drop the subject." The conversation didn't end there however because later in the evening Goku brought it up again.

It was late and they were both lying in bed awake, unable to sleep. It was raining again. "Sanzo…" Goku whispered tentatively, not sure if he was sleeping or not.

"What, monkey?" Sanzo replied.

"What if reincarnation is real and this really is karma pulling us all back together?" Sanzo sighed and sat up, fumbling around the nightstand for his cigarettes and lighter. It was dark in the room so he couldn't see. When he found them he lit up and inhaled deeply.

"It might be possible." He crumpled up the empty carton and threw it to the floor. He would need to buy more tomorrow.

"But **you** said you don't believe in reincarnation, Sanzo!"

"I know what I said, Goku."

"Then what do you mean?" Sanzo growled in frustration and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "You said you were Catholic."

"Goku," he started grudgingly "I **am** Catholic, but I don't agree with most of their teachings…I don't even think I believe in God." Goku stared at him quizzically in the dark, concentrating on the faint glow of his cigarette

"Why?" she asked

"Because God has never once answered my prayers." He answered while blowing a puff of smoke "I've had problems and negativity thrusted upon me since I was a child. Maybe reincarnation is real and maybe I did something wrong in one of my past lives. But I won't let that bastard Gojyo know what I'm thinking and it's best you don't either."

"I won't, Sanzo." Goku replied lightly she hesitated before speaking again "Sanzo?"

"What?"

"What did God do to make you so angry with Him?" Ouch. He had definitely not been expecting that question. But he wouldn't let his astonishment get the better of him.

"Why did you run away from home?"

"Because I wanted to find happiness." The gold haired man couldn't help but turn in the dark to face the dark outline he figured was her. "My parents were wealthy and stuff so they only care about how they look around other people. So they didn't care that all the stuff they were making me do was making me unhappy. What mattered to them is that **they** looked good."

Sanzo sat in silence and finished his cigarette. He hadn't actually been expecting her to answer so truthfully (or at all), and though the downpour of the rain was loud and the rolling of thunder was deafening he could tell that Goku was sniffling quietly: crying. He knew all to well how tears sounded.

With a heavy sigh he continued speaking "Goku," he started after a moment "Have you found happiness?"

"…Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have." And she smiled so brightly that even through the dark Sanzo could see it.

They were quiet again for a long time just lying in their beds listening to the rain. It was during the moments of silence that they seemed to understand each other best, taking in what they were told. But being who they were silence wasn't always so golden and after several hours Goku broke it.

"I think the sun is rising."

"Hard to tell with all this fucking rain." Sanzo snorted but he then noticed that the rain was no longer falling.

"Why do you hate the rain so much, Sanzo?" Goku snickered.

"That's something I'll tell you later on, Goku. But for now we need to get to sleep."

"…Okay. But just so ya know, I'm not sleepy."

"So you say, monkey."

"…I'm not a monkey."

"Go to sleep."

"…**You** go to sleep."

-Bang, Bang. My baby shot me down.-

Gojyo nuzzled the bare neck of Hakkai who was wrapped warmly in his arms, his back pressed firmly against the blood-red head's smooth chest. Hakkai grunted softly and pulled out of the other's arms. "It's morning, Sanzo and Goku are probably awake."

"I don't fucking **care**." Gojyo replied, pulling him back "Let the little virgins walk in and see some lovely men in each other's arms. It's hot and you know it." Hakkai rolled his eyes despite the smile across his face.

"I highly doubt Sanzo's a virgin, _Gojyo_."

"Hah, hah, you're **funneh**."

"And your breath smells." Hakkai chuckled, making Gojyo frown and release him. "I think we should brush our teeth and take showers."

"Together?" Gojyo grinned and sat up quickly.

"_Showers_ not a _shower_, Gojyo." Hakkai stood and stretched "Where are my clothes, I need to dress."

"Why?" Hakkai frowned at the whine.

"Because the man of today requires all citizens to wear clothes, dear."

"Damn the man."

"And all of his requirements, no?" Hakkai chuckled again and pulled his pants on before disappearing into the bathroom.

"So what do you think of this whole situation with the little girl?" Gojyo called out, scratching his nose non chalantly.

"I told Sanzo what I think." Hakkai replied from the bathroom.

"I heard **that** bullshit but I want to know what you **really **think." Gojyo was no fool (regardless of whatever Sanzo said) he had known Hakkai for three years which was enough time to know the **real** Hakkai. "I also want to know what you actually think about the whole déjà vu shit going on."

In the bathroom Hakkai furrowed his brow as he removed his pants and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. A large, twisted scar ran across his lower stomach just underneath his bellybutton. The scar had been from an incident three years previous to their present position; the wound that had caused the scar was actually what brought the three men together.

"Well?" Hakkai blinked his emerald green eyes before removing his glasses and clearing his throat.

"Well," he said loudly "I have only one opinion for both topics."

"Which is?"

"When Goku said that our meeting seems familiar and I agreed, well I actually meant that. And although Sanzo _says_ he doesn't believe in reincarnation or anything like that I think he truthfully does."

"Thus meaning?"

"Thus meaning Sanzo feels the four of us being together is meant to happen which is why he keeps Goku."

"All in all?"

"All in all…?" Hakkai thought carefully as he stepped under the hot running water "All in all, I do not care as long as we get away from what is behind us."

"Hah! So like you."

-You can use my straw I don't have cooties.-

"Hey, Sanzo?" Goku started as she helped load Hakuryu "Where are we going?"

"West." Sanzo replied simply "But first we're to stop at a store, I think I saw one in town, Hakkai." Goku dropped the bag she was loading.

"We can't go to there." She said quickly, receiving odd stares from the others "The guards all know me there."

"Ooh, the little monkey-nun has a **criminal record**." Gojyo snickered and Goku cast a glare in his direction while kicking the bag on the ground. "That's my bag you little monster."

"I _**know**_." Goku snapped back leaving it on the ground for Gojyo to pick it up himself. "Why are we heading west, Sanzo?"

"Not exactly sure." He answered "Seemed like a good idea at the beginning."

"Beginning of what?" Sanzo frowned and didn't answer, silently ending the conversation for the moment. He would explain later when they were alone "So where is our next stop?"

"Wherever we end up eight hours from now." Gojyo answered the open question.

"Why?" Goku asked yet again, making the red head groan.

"Are you a broken record?"

"Are you gay?" Sanzo snickered at the retort and silently praised the girl for hitting a nerve attached to both Hakkai and Gojyo. But Goku caught the approving stare in the side-view mirror and grinned wickedly.

"Shut the fuck up you retarded little monkey."

"Oh, sad day are you on your homosexual period?"

"I swear to fucking GOD I will murder you in your sleep."

"At least I don't have to worry about **rape.**" Goku grinned slyly as Hakkai started the car and drove off, heading toward the next town set in the west.

"MONKEY!"

"Faggot."

"I WILL STOMP ON YOUR LITTLE MONKEY FACE UNTIL YOUR TINY MONKEY BRAIN POPS OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MONKEY NOSE!"

"Aw, sad day, why are ya mad?" Goku giggled calmly "Is it because you're period? Is that why you're angry? Do we need to buy some Midol?"

"THAT'S IT!" Gojyo screamed and pulled Goku into a choke hold she shrieked loudly and began to hit whatever she could reach, incidentally smacking a hand harshly onto Gojyo's "jewels" making him shout and (accidentally) kick Sanzo in the front passenger seat.

Sanzo turned around and smacked the both of them from the front seat, issuing more shrieks of pain. Hakkai only smiled awkwardly and chuckled "This is gong to be a long journey."

-Zed's dead-

AN: Thank you all so much for reading! I really hope you're enjoying it. A note to those who may find the homosexual slurs a bit…er offensive. I am certainly not saying anyone homosexual is **wrong** or anything. It's just something…eh…funny? Haha. Please don't kill me.

Also, for those of you who don't know, the quotes I put as the separation lines are actually from movies. The first ones "bang" and stuff are from the opening song ("Bang Bang" by Nancy Sinatra) from Kill Bill volume one. The last two are from the movie Pulp Fiction. Just a fun fact.


	4. The Saints meet the Devil Part I

The Story of the Recalled Souls

Chapter 4: The Saints meet the Devil Part I

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or Journey to the West.

-Chill that fucking bitch out-

They drove for several hours, the sun bearing down upon them brightly with the rain clouds long forgotten. Goku stared straight up into the clear blue sky of early May. She had been with the three men for several weeks and had learned a lot about them. She learned that Hakkai and Gojyo actually _were_ gay (Gojyo was "bisexual") and Sanzo had made her swear not to make fun of Hakkai for it. Truthfully she had never considered it because she was slightly frightened of the brown haired man.

He may have had a kind smile and a mellow nature but Goku could tell behind that mask was the face of a man shrouded with anger and sadness. Nevertheless she promised Sanzo. There were still a lot of things she was ignorant of when it came to her companions but she knew that as time went by everything would be revealed.

At the moment, however, there was only one thing on her mind "Sanzo, I'm hungry." She whined for what was probably the hundredth time that hour.

"I know, Goku." Sanzo replied irately from the front passenger seat "I heard you the first time…and the second time and every other fucking time after. So I don't think telling me anymore is necessary."

"I don't understand how you can be so hungry all the time and be so fucking skinny when you do absolutely nothing." Gojyo put in.

"Well I just am." Goku snapped back while rubbing her stomach.

"You just ate two boxes of Cheezits, too. So how can you be hungry again?"

"**I** **don't** **know**, Gojyo!"

"Wait, you just ate **two** boxes?" Sanzo said suddenly, twisting around to face her "When did you eat two boxes?"

"An hour ago." Gojyo informed glancing at Goku who was leaning over in the seat clutching her stomach.

"**Why** did you eat two boxes of Cheezits, Goku?" Sanzo demanded and with his temper rising high, Goku not answering him or looking at him made him even angrier "Goku, I'm talking to you." She still didn't answer instead she remained doubled over clutching her abdomen, Sanzo felt a slight twinge of pain in the back of his mind "What's wrong with you?"

Hakkai stopped the jeep and pulled to the side of the long and empty road "Goku?" he stepped out and walked around to her side of the vehicle "What's wrong, dear?"

"My stomach hurts." She replied feebly.

"Oh man the monkey's got to take a shit." Gojyo teased "OW, Sanzo, don't fucking hit me with your **gun**! You could **kill** someone that way, dumbass!" Sanzo glared and gripped one of Goku's arms.

"That's what I was going for moron. Goku do you have to use the bathroom?" Goku shook her head at Sanzo's concern but then nodded. "Well which is it?" she shrugged and straightened up again when the pain passed "Just keep driving to the next town Hakkai. We'll stop at a hotel or something."

It took another twenty minutes before they reached a small city somewhere in New Mexico. The only place with room was a small motel in the center of town with two rooms available. Both with one Queen sized beds in each. "Well, Gojyo and I don't mind sharing a bed, Sanzo…" Hakkai said quietly so the girl behind the counter couldn't hear "But what about you and Goku?" Sanzo glanced at the girl who was merrily talking to a handsome teenage boy with grey eyes and short auburn hair.

"Goku, come here." Sanzo snapped noticing the boy's stares wandering _south_ of her face "_**Now.**_" Hakkai raised his eyebrows and hid a chuckle behind his hand.

"Sanzo, that guy said there's a famous person in town!" Goku said bubbly "He said they're gunna do some public speech thing tonight and he said I can go! Can I, Sanzo? Huh, can I?"

Sanzo glared at the boy before fixing his gaze back on to Goku's excited smile "**No.**" Her face dropped "And don't talk to that little fucker over there, either."

"Oh why not? He's nice…"

"We'll talk about it later." Sanzo dismissed the conversation before turning back to Hakkai "I don't care about that bull shit. I'll figure something out later tonight, just give her the card and we can head out again tomorrow. Goku, go with Hakkai to get our room keys." Goku pouted up at the blonde but he remained passive "Go."

Her pout morphed into a defiant stare and then Hakkai pulled her along with him, gold credit card in hand. Sanzo remained in the lobby glaring at the boy who smiled at Goku as she passed. When she and Hakkai were out of ear shot Sanzo approached the teenager. "You've got yourself a good lookin' girl there, sir." The boy grinned crookedly.

Sanzo pursed his lips and then beckoned him closer; he threw an arm around the boy's neck and squeezed him into a choke-hold, planting the barrel of his Smith and Wesson gun into his side. "You're right, I do." Sanzo growled "**I **do, not you, you little fucking dillweed. Stay the fuck away from her or I will be glad to put a bullet through your skull. Do I make myself clear?" the boy nodded his purple face and then Sanzo released him, letting him skitter away to who-knows-where. Goku and Hakkai came back into the lobby, Goku handed the gold card back with the frown still firmly placed on her face.

"Don't pout or you'll get wrinkles." Gojyo scoffed as he walked in with the rest of the baggage "Hey did you guys know that politician guy is here? What's his name…uh...Ni Jian Yi or something…?"

"I **told** you, Sanzo!" Goku hissed "Let's go see him tonight!"

"And I already told you **no**, Goku." Sanzo replied "Now go up to the room and stay there." Goku growled angrily and began to stomp her way up the stairs. Sanzo called out to her when she was halfway up making her turn towards him with a hopeful expression "Do not leave that room. If I find out you did-"

"I. GET. IT." She snapped before continuing up the stairs with the hopeful smile long gone.

"Oh how cute," Gojyo snickered "Monkey is angry at Daddy."

"Gojyo, you have a death wish don't you?" Sanzo growled as they followed her. After much arguing with the young girl about why she was to stay in the room all night, Sanzo joined Hakkai and Gojyo in their room.

"With only one bed in here you're going to have to start knocking, Sanzo." Gojyo decreed "Unless you **want** to see us doing the nasty?"

"You have to be the biggest fucking prick I have ever met in the entire world." Sanzo snarled before lowering his voice "Have either of you checked with what's going on back east?"

"They've definitely got the fuzz out for me and Hakkai." Gojyo informed quietly.

"There's a catholic church in town, Sanzo." Hakkai added "I'm sure you can find more information out there. But I seriously doubt we should stay in this town very long."

"I know that." Sanzo replied "I'll have go to the church and get what we need."

"Will you go tonight?"

"I don't have much of a choice. I need one of you to stay here with Goku, though." Sanzo informed "That fucker she was talking to was definitely looking for some ass and I may not have scared him off for long."

"Who's staying?" Gojyo asked.

"Well I have grocery shopping to do and I'm the only one with a driver's license." Hakkai replied "And Sanzo has to go to the church…so I guess you're the default choice?

"Fuck that, I wanted to go into town and score _myself_ some ass."

"Don't you have enough of it?" Sanzo retorted only to regret it, feeling the glare hidden behind the smile Hakkai wore.

"Sanzo, walking does well for one's body." Sanzo cursed vehemently under his breath.

Goku listened intently from the room next door; she had been in the middle of unpacking her clothes when she realized she could hear the men's conversation. She gulped audibly. She'd had her suspicions as to the real reason of their travels. Bank robbery, kidnapping, murder…the usual crimes that popped into a teenager's active imagination.

But now she was **sure** there was something fowl afoot. A moment of fear ran through her as she realized how probable her imaginary crimes actually were. She could be running around the country with three men who could certainly kill her with no qualms.

But the moment of fear passed, she had been with them for this long and if they had any ill will towards her they would have already done it. Besides, even if they were criminals what did she care? Every instinct she had told her they were all **meant** to be together. There was no reason to worry.

The sound of the door opening snapped her from her roaming thoughts, making her jump and look up. Sanzo frowned at her "What's wrong with you this time?"

"You **scared** me, Sanzo!" she gasped with a nervous laugh "Are you going somewhere?" Sanzo nodded and checked his gun for bullets. Goku was used to seeing the silver Smith and Wesson by now, having asked him about it during their first week together. "Where are you going? Can I come?"

"None of your business and no." he replied flatly "I don't know how long I'll be gone anyway, so there's no point dragging you." He snapped his gun back into place, switched the safety on and tucked it back into his pants hiding it safely under his long black shirt. He caught Goku's gaze "What?"

"How come you don't know when you'll get back?" she asked quietly, suddenly very still.

"Because I just don't." Sanzo answered simply "Gojyo is going to be here so you'll be fine."

"But I don't want to stay here with Gojyo. I want to go with you."

"Look, I know Gojyo is a pervert but you'll be fine. He won't do anything to you-**what**?" He cut himself short when Goku began to shake her head.

"I'm not worried about him." She whined "I just want to stay with you! I don't like it when you leave. Please let me come I promise I won't get in the way."

"I already gave you my answer. And why are you being so clingy?"

"Because I…I just don't like to be alone." Silence passed after her reply.

"You're not telling me something." Sanzo broke in, staring over the girl with disquieted eyes "What are you hiding?" Goku shook her head again "Stop lying to me, Goku. Tell me what's going on."

"_Nothing_."

"Goku."

"_**Nothing**_, Sanzo."

"_Goku_."

"Sanzo…"

"_**Goku**_." The girl whimpered softly and bit her bottom lip, Sanzo's lavender eyes pierced her like a knife over and over. She felt her knees weakening as a wave of nausea swept over her, she swallowed the bile and whimpered again. She didn't want him to know she was concerned because then he would find out she was eavesdropping. "What is going on?"

She shook her head and bit her lip harder, drawing blood. He continued to survey the girl for a moment before his eyes narrowed "You were listening to what we were talking about, weren't you?" Goku's golden eyes widened fearfully "You were snooping."

"Not intentionally!" she squealed "But the walls are so thin that even if you guys were whispering I could hear it, I swear! Please don't get mad I'm sorry!" Sanzo took a step forward and Goku squealed again "Sanzo, I'm **sorry**!" He was less than a foot in front of her and she was pressed against the far wall, whimpering and staring up into his narrowed eyes.

She bit her bottom lip again and felt the warm blood ooze down her chin. She closed her eyes and turned her head away from the man, she wasn't afraid but she knew that he could easily kill her, and being dead was definitely not something she wanted.

She gasped when Sanzo brushed a warm thumb over her lip and wiped away the blood. She opened her eyes; he was staring at her face intently, searching for something. "You're not afraid of me, are you?" He asked quietly after a moment, Goku blinked rapidly and then shook her head slowly. He smirked and placed a hand beside her head on the wall, leaning his weight on the hand he bent close to her "Do you trust me, then?"

Goku realized she was breathing heavily but it still was not from fear, it was from something completely different…it was something she couldn't place. It was a brand new feeling that was like excitement but ten times better and made her feel a hundred times dizzier. "Do you trust me, Goku?" Sanzo's voice was low and raspy and sweet as it swept down her neck. Was this what they called "sexual tension?"

"Goku…" he was leaning close, almost _excruciatingly _close. His touch made her want to wrap her arms around him, hold him close and continue exploring these new emotions that were enveloping her. "Do you trust me, my little monkey?"

"Yes…" Goku breathed feeling her knees go weaker, threatening to give out "Yes, I trust you…"

"Are you sure?" She nodded and felt him grin beside her "Can I trust you?" Another whimper escaped her throat and she nodded again "Then trust me to go out tonight…I'll come back to you and explain everything."

"Do you promise?" Goku whispered, he chuckled low in his throat and leaned closer, their bodies coming into contact. She could feel the warmth of his body, so tempting and delicious that she was bound to lose herself soon if they continued their position.

"Yeah, I promise." Sanzo answered slowly and slightly sensuously before turning on his heel and walking towards the door, with his hand on the knob he glanced at her over his shoulder "Stay here and wait for me, Goku." Goku nodded from the other side of the room and he walked out, slamming the door shut behind him.

Goku stood plastered to the wall for several moments, breathing heavily. Her chest rising and falling quickly and then she slid to the floor with a confused sob. Planted firmly on the floor her breath came back in short and loud gasps as she tried to regain herself.

From the hallway Sanzo closed his eyes and sighed audibly, he pressed his hot forehead to the cool wood of the door, listening to her struggle for breath. When Hakkai stepped out of his own room and cleared his throat torrents of shivers ran down the blonde's spine. "Are you alright, Sanzo?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it, Hakkai." He replied quickly, straightening up "But Goku overheard our conversation."

"Oh my…" Hakkai sighed "Are we going to leave her-"

"I already told you she is to stay with me." Sanzo cut him sharply "We're going to tell her the truth tonight."

"Are you sure that's _wise_, Sanzo?"

"Hunh." Sanzo snorted "Like she'd let me live it down now that she's heard so much? Of course it's 'wise.' Do you not think she'll find it suspicious when we get as far west as possible and then tell her we're sneaking off to a different country?" Hakkai remained silent as he stared placidly at the closed door of Sanzo and Goku's room.

"I didn't realize you were planning on taking her with us to Japan." He said quietly after a moment, Sanzo sneered.

"What part of 'she's to stay with me' do you not comprehend, Hakkai? Don't tell me that retard Gojyo is rubbing off on you?" Sanzo snorted again and turned to walk down the stairs, Hakkai stood outside the door still. He stayed put contemplating the new information he'd been given until Sanzo's harsh voice called him into the lobby. With fierce determination Hakkai replaced the mask of a peaceful smile and followed him.

-Ima' go medieval on yo' ass.-

Gojyo groaned loudly when he discovered the TV in his room didn't work and the clock radio on the nightstand beside the bed was bust when it came to playing anything other than country or tejano music. With another groan he walked around the room crossly, puffing on a cigarette despite the blatant "NO SMOKING" sign hanging above the bed. He stopped pacing when he remembered what he was supposed to be doing: watching the monkey.

He grabbed a six pack of beer and a few cans of soda from the cooler and walked into the hallway. A woman with a child in her arms walked past him and smiled suggestively. Had she not been carrying a kid on her hip Gojyo might have followed her and partied, instead he smirked "That dress looks _fabulous on you_! I wish my boyfriend would dress nicely, too. Where did you get it?" he said in the gayest voice he could muster, the woman sneered and walked away quickly muttering angrily

"Hey where are you going, sweetheart?" Gojyo called after her mockingly "I was just trying to make conversation! Bitch!" he grinned and knocked on Goku's door "Goku, open the door it's me, Gojyo the man with the long and sexy legs." No answer "Goku! B-F-F!! Open up so we can paint each other's toenails and-hey man." He nodded at a man who passed "We can braid each other's hair and maybe when the others come back we can tell ghost stories and-"

Goku opened the door and glowered at him "You are _so_ stupid." She said wryly allowing the red head to walk inside the room. "What do you want?"

"I'm bored out of my fucking skull so let's do something. Let's play Craps or something." He ordered, setting the soda and beer on a table, when he turned to face her again she had planted herself on the large bed. "What's wrong?"

"I don't feel like playing Craps." She sighed "And nothing is wrong

I'm just kind of tired. But you're welcome to do whatever." Gojyo blinked.

"Okay now I _know_ something is wrong." He scratched his head "Is it because Sanzo chased away your new boyfriend?"

"Whuh? Boy…oh you mean that guy I was talking to, no I don't care about _that_." She sighed again.

"Then what's up?" Goku growled in frustration.

"Nothing is wrong and if there was something wrong why would I tell _you _about it?" she grumbled receiving a shrug.

"Maybe because I'm the only one you can openly talk to about shit?" Goku frowned and he continued "I mean, Sanzo is a prick who gets angry with everything and Hakkai…well…Hakkai would just send you back to Sanzo if he can't find a motherly enough answer to give you himself." Goku raised her eyebrows.

She had never really considered turning to Gojyo for any type of answer, but when he put it like that…he was the obvious problem solver. She sighed and flopped to her side. "So kiddo," Gojyo started, propping is legs up on the table, something that Sanzo would have shot him in the foot for "What is on your mind?"

Goku shrugged which proved to be difficult considering she was still on her side "Well…" she started softly, catching Gojyo's full attention "Do you remember the first time you felt…lust?"

Gojyo snorted "Actually, yeah. I do." He snickered and grinned at Goku "I was thirteen…just hit puberty you know…" Goku sat up slowly and stared at him "I had this teacher, a woman, and she was always wearing these real short skirts…" he grinned again and opened a beer "Well when I was walking home after school one day I happened to see that teacher on the side of the road…she had a flat tire and I fixed it for her.

"So she offered me a ride home and when we got to my house she thanked me for fixing her tire and she leaned over and gave me a hug…" his grin widened "Man…I tell you there was nothing more awesome than having those big boobs pressed up against my chest…and being a kid at the time I went **wild**. It was like all the intelligence was just **sucked** right out of me and I was breathing all hard and then I started feeling…**weird**."

"Weird how?" Goku breathed.

"Well, I thought it was weird _then_ but now I know it's normal to have that reaction when…uh…_horny_." He glanced at Goku and noticed that rather than being flustered by what she was told she seemed to be interested. Not in _that_ way but interested as a kid would be in learning how a rocket was built.

"Did you think you _loved_ that teacher, Gojyo?" she asked tentatively, Gojyo let out a harsh laugh.

"Oh I 'loved' that bitch alright…" he chortled "I '_loved_' the brains clear out of her in the back seat of her car right there in front of my house." He snickered at the shocked response Goku gave. "But someone from school saw us and turned her in." he sighed and scratched his nose "She was fired and lost her teaching license for that."

His face grew thoughtful as he sipped his beer "Poor lady…I don't even remember her name." he frowned and glanced at Goku "Do you think you're lusting after someone?" Goku shrugged.

"It's hard to tell for me because I don't get boners." She replied making Gojyo spit his beer out "What? You're shocked that I know what a boner is? Oh come on, Gojyo, I'm a high school graduate. I better know what a boner or '_erection_' is. I've just never been horny or whatever for anyone."

"NEVER?" Gojyo exasperated when Goku shook her head he nearly fell off his chair "I don't believe it, you **are** a little nun!"

"I'm not a **nun** just because I'm a virgin!"

"So you're like…frigid right now?"

"Considering the circumstances…yes, I suppose I am 'frigid.'" She said sardonically "And yes I know what frigid means!" she sighed again and let silence erupt. It was weird to have silence when in the presence of Gojyo, thought it never lasted very long.

"So who is it you're lusting after?" Goku cast him a sideways glance "Is it Sanzo?" She didn't answer "Ooh, it **is** Sanzo. Aw, how sweet. Kodak moment, ya know?"

Goku glared at him again but decided to ignore what he said and instead changed the subject to something she knew would hit a nerve "So are you in love with Hakkai?" Gojyo spit his beer out again and began to choke, Goku remained inert. When he could no longer extend his fake choking and coughing she stared at him expectantly.

"Uh…" Gojyo cleared his throat and chugged what was left of his beer "I guess so…I…uh…I don't know."

"How can you not know? You guys have sex, right?"

"Sex doesn't mean we're in love…"

"And you're _his_ exclusive, right?"

"Well…yeah. But he's not mine."

"Well _he_ obviously loves _you_."

"What makes you say that?"

Goku rolled her eyes "Why else would Hakkai allow you to sleep around with other people if he didn't love you? And especially if it isn't just 'casual sex' you guys have. Do you have sex with other guys and girls or just other girls?" Gojyo stared fixedly at the prying girl.

"What's it to you?"

"I'm just **curious**." Goku shrugged.

"Hakkai is the only guy I have sex with."

"Why?"

"Because he's the only guy I'm really attracted to…"

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Why?"

"Are you a parrot?!" Gojyo snapped angrily "I mean what the hell, I answer one question and you just keep going and going…like the Energizer bunny or something."

"Which one?"

"'Which one' what?"

"You said I'm like parrot then you said I'm like the Energizer bunny, so which is it?"

"JESUS!" Gojyo threw his head back and swore vehemently "You do this shit on purpose, don't you?"

"Yes." Goku answered with an innocent smile "It's fun!" she giggled "Can I ask you more questions?"

"As long as they don't pertain to my sex life, then yes." He replied while opening another can of beer.

"What's with the blood red hair?"

"I color it." Gojyo answered and after glancing at the girl he continued, knowing she was going to question his answer again "I started to color my hair because I didn't like people to tell me how much I look like my mother and now it's just a force of habit." Goku frowned and opened her mouth to ask but he cut her off "When I let my hair stay its natural color I look just like my mom, but with it this random color it distracts people. Happy?"

"That's weird." Goku said after a moment "Do you not like your mother?"

"She didn't like me." Gojyo sighed "She left me with my dad and my grandmother. Who were both kind of crazy…" he sighed again "I ran away from home when I was sixteen and started making it on my own like a big boy." he took a swig from his beer "But I got a job and stuff. I knew they wouldn't bother bringing me home or anything."

"Can I ask another?"

"Shoot."

"When did you and Hakkai meet?"

"Uh…we met when we were nineteen." He thought carefully "I helped him out of a tight spot and let him stay with me at my apartment." He glanced at Goku and noticed she was fighting another Gojyo-Hakkai relationship question "We started our relationship a year after we met." Goku nodded.

"When did you meet Sanzo?"

"Oh we met about two years ago, right before we started this road trip." he sighed "But I can't go any further than that when it comes to the trip, kiddo. That's Sanzo's job."

"I wasn't going to ask." That was the truth. She knew she could ask more questions when Sanzo came back. She trusted him. "I think I'm going to take a shower. You can stay here and watch TV if you want."

"Like you telling me I couldn't would have made any difference." Goku shrugged and grabbed her clothes before she walked into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.

Now, Goku had had every intention of undressing, turning on the shower, bathing and then returning to the room to watch TV with Gojyo and wait like a good girl for Sanzo to get back. But when she pulled back the shower curtain and noticed a large oak tree just outside a window she could easily fit through she quickly changed her mind. With no hesitation she ensured the door was locked, turned the shower on, opened the window and jumped onto the tree.

Being wet from running through the shower made it a bit difficult to crawl down the tree, but she made it down nonetheless. She was barefoot and damp but her determination was great. Knowing Sanzo had gone to the church made it easy for her to know exactly where she was going, she could be back before he did. Gojyo may suspect something about her prolonged shower but that didn't matter.

Luckily, the town was small enough for her to make it to the church on foot before the sun set. Her heart beat wildly when she walked up the front stairs to the church, she could almost _feel_ Sanzo through the doors and anticipation nipped at her fiercely. She bit her tongue when her hand came to rest upon the doorknob. She couldn't decide if she should go in or if she should just stay outside the doors which would basically defeat the whole purpose of coming. But getting caught by Sanzo would do the same.

While set in the middle of her decision voices caught her attention, she followed the sound and came upon an open window on the side of the church. When she peeked inside she had to clamp a hand over her mouth from squealing with delight at the sight she saw. It was Sanzo, standing at the altar with a priest with dark hair. They were talking in low voices, but Goku was able to catch what they said.

Glancing around Goku noticed the church was empty save for one other man who sat in a pew, on his knees in prayer. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed. The man was surprisingly handsome, with dark brown hair that was slicked back in an important looking style, he had a sandy tan much like Gojyo's. But this man, even with his eyes closed behind thin-rimmed glasses was much scarier than Gojyo.

Goku gave herself a small shake and averted her eyes from the man back to Sanzo and the priest. "We'll be leaving the country, Father." Sanzo said softly "We'll need them soon."

The priest nodded and cleared his throat "I can get you what you need, my son." He responded "Four you say?"

"Correct. Three males and one female." Sanzo answered.

"Well I cannot give them to you directly, my son." The priest informed "But there is a town where my brother resides. He can give you what you require."

"Thank you, Father." Sanzo gave a small bow but the priest shook his head.

"Your father, Priest Koumyou would have done the same." He smiled "Now, as to your earlier question I'm afraid we'll have to resign to my office…Follow me." Goku whined quietly seeing Sanzo disappear. When the door to the office shut she pouted and looked around the church again. The man was gone.

"I hope you know it doesn't cost to enter the church, sweetheart." The voice that came from behind Goku sent waves of cold shivers down her vertebrae. She gulped and turned around slowly. It was the man from inside the church. He gave her a smile that did not reach his cold grey eyes. "What are you doing hiding out here, hm?"

Goku bit her tongue violently to stop the cry that threatened to escape her throat. All of her instincts were on _fire_, screaming to run away from this man. She hadn't even heard him come near, and if her eyes weren't open she would not have been able to tell he was there. A small sob broke through her lips and the man gave a mocking pout.

"What's wrong?" he asked "Cat got your tongue?" he gripped her chin and pulled her face up "My, my, what pretty eyes you have…like honey dripping from the hive."

"Leave…leave me alone." She squeaked making the man chuckle.

"You're a cute little thing, you know that?' he smiled that cold, empty smile again "It's going to be dark soon. Why don't I give you a ride home in my limo? Hm? Would you like that Miss Honey-Eyes?" Goku jerked from his grasp "You're feisty, aren't you?" he raked his cold stare over her and paused at something golden around her neck, sticking just out of her collared shirt. He reached out and grabbed it, pulling a long golden chain out. His eyes widened slightly and a stupid grin swept his face.

"What a pretty necklace…" he mused "May I…take it off of you along with…other articles?" Goku snarled and kneed him in the crotch before running off. The man howled and dropped to the ground, cursing under his breath.

"Mr. Jian Yi!" voices yelled their concern when they saw him doubled over on the ground "Are you alright? What happened?" Ni Jian Yi shook away their helpful hands and straightened his clothes.

"I'm fine." He snapped, running a hand through his tussled hair, he turned in the direction of where Goku had run but found she was nowhere to be seen. He smirked lightly "I'm absolutely fine…little Goku." He dropped his voice and allowed his advocates to lead him to the waiting limousine.

Somewhere not far from the church a man with short brown hair watched the scene take place with narrowed eyes. "So the twisted doctor has found them again…" He hissed and stared after Goku who was running across a field back towards the inn. "Goku…you're a human this time around…so you have to be careful…" Kougaiji sighed and shook his head, turning around he mounted his motorcycle and drove off.

-Damn the Man-

AN: Things will make sense with the next few chapters. This ending can be what you call…a cliffhanger, boys and girls. So please…just bear with me. Mmkay? If you have any questions just send me an e-mail and I'll be happy to answer! Thanks!


	5. The Saints meet the Devil Part II

The Story of the Recalled Souls

Chapter 5: The Saints meet the Devil Part II

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or Journey to the West.

-Remember when Ulla dance? Yes?! Ulla dance again!-

When Sanzo finally finished his business at the church he walked outside to find that it was already dark, a pure white crescent moon hung low in the sky. The blonde stared at the moon as he smoked, inhaling deeply he began to walk back towards the hotel. The news he'd been given from his superiors was both good and bad. Explaining any news to Gojyo and Hakkai was always difficult, but it was going to be even more so having to break it down and explain the **whole damn** story to Goku.

With Goku being the young, curious girl that she was, she would certainly have a lot of questions. And normally Sanzo would have no qualms putting up with them. _However_, he would also have to put up with Gojyo's annoyingly perverse additions and Hakkai's fake smile and more than likely his real thoughts whenever Goku wasn't around. And Hakkai's thoughts **always** managed to piss give Sanzo a headache.

Hakkai **said** he was fine with Goku coming along, but Sanzo knew better. He knew Hakkai would try his very best to convince either Sanzo or Goku herself that it was best she went home. Sanzo nearly bit through his cigarette at the thought. He would have to remember not to leave Goku alone with Hakkai. It wasn't that Sanzo was afraid Hakkai might hurt her, but he would certainly put ideas in her brain. Ideas that, unlike the ones Gojyo gave her, would be irreparable.

Sanzo stopped on the side of the road and thought carefully about Goku. The little monkey-girl he had found almost a month ago living in a sewer pipe. She hadn't changed much over the weeks. No, in fact she was still just as curious about every little thing as she had been in the beginning, not without reason, though. They still hadn't told her the truth about their journey. Sanzo didn't want to taint her. She was just…too innocent and pure. There weren't any better words for her.

_"Well," _Sanzo thought with a perverse smirk _"'Oh so fuckable' are good words too…"_ he quickly snapped away from the idea and put his cigarette out in his hand shamefully. What the hell was wrong with him?

He had promised himself that he wouldn't touch her in _that_ way. He growled angrily and lit anther cigarette, frustrated and slightly horny. What the hell had happened to his reserve? He had always possessed the gift of defying perverse thoughts, especially when it came to lust.

What happened to his resolve? He had once been in the red light district with beautiful women all around him, offering themselves yet he had refused- when he was eighteen! The age when a man's sex drive is at its peak! But then again, he had never met anyone as irresistible as Goku, with her firm stomach, round breasts, copper skin, and golden eyes…Sanzo growled again and bit his tongue. How could she awaken such feelings within him? Maybe Gojyo was rubbing off on him?

With much determination, he set aside the thoughts of deflowering Goku (because it would definitely NOT be a good idea to walk into their room with a boner) and concentrated on what he would have to tell her.

When he walked into the room it was to find Gojyo and Hakkai sitting at the table eating pizza and watching TV, Goku was nowhere in sight. "Welcome back, Sanzo." Hakkai greeted, Sanzo ignored him.

"Where's Goku?" he snapped a bit more harshly than intended.

"Oh, she's in the shower. She's been in there for a while…I hope she didn't fall asleep." Hakkai informed, motioning to the closed bathroom door with a small chuckle "Did you make contact with them?"

"Yeah," Sanzo started slowly "There's good news and bad news. Which would you rather hear first?"

"Good news." Gojyo replied quickly.

"Good news is that we have tickets to fly to Japan for the twentieth of next month." Sanzo informed "And we can get our fake passports in Las Vegas."

"Sweet!" Gojyo laughed "Legal brothels, gambling, fine hotels…we're set. We might not even have to ever leave Vegas!"

"What's the bad news, Sanzo?" Hakkai breathed.

"The bad news," Sanzo frowned and grabbed a beer "The bad news is that we are no longer being followed by the monks from the Vatican anymore."

"How the hell is that bad news?" Gojyo snorted.

"We're being hunted by **assassins**, now." Sanzo finished "And the best thing is that my superiors have no **fucking** clue as to who hired them." Silence erupted between the men. They remained silent for a long time, none of them moving. They listened to the sound of the shower water being cut off and then the hair dryer whirring into life as Goku dried her hair.

When she walked out of the bathroom she blinked rapidly and stared around the solemn room. "What's…going on?" she asked tentatively, Sanzo glanced at her and then took a swig of his beer "Am I in trouble?"

"We all are, Goku." Hakkai said somewhat bitterly as he stood up and handed her a slice of pizza "Oh, it's cold. I'll warm it up in the microwave for you." Goku thanked him awkwardly and moved to stand next to Sanzo, she tugged lightly on his sleeve and stared up into his eyes.

"Sanzo, what's happened?" she asked quietly, Sanzo sighed and ruffled her hair.

"A lot of things…" he replied grudgingly.

"Where did you go?" she moved closer and continued to peer up at him with curious and slightly fearful golden eyes.

"I went to the church in town." Sanzo answered.

"How come?"

"Because I had to make contact with my superiors and I can only do that through the church. Even if the priest isn't from the same church as me."

"Why?" Sanzo glanced at Hakkai who was standing at the microwave with his back turned towards the rest of the room.

"Because, Goku" Sanzo turned his eyes back to the girl "My adoptive father was a high-esteemed priest in the Catholic Church. After he died, I was left to the other priests of the church to raise me."

"Alter boy!" Gojyo sneered, Sanzo threw a shoe at him before continuing.

"I wasn't raised as a priest or anything, but, _yes,_ I was an alter boy, but nothing more." He glared daggers at Gojyo "I wasn't a regular member of the church, either, because I knew all of its secrets."

"Secrets? What kind of secrets?"

"He means secret denominations and organizations." Hakkai put in as the microwave beeped "My sister and I were members of a top secret organization." Goku cocked her head to the side quizzically and Hakkai smiled as he turned around "It was top secret because it was an assassination program."

"Really?" Goku's eyes lit up like a child's in a candy store "Were you an assassin?"

"No," Hakkai gave a bitter smile "I trained them. Though I'm gad the assassins after us aren't any I trained."

"What?! There are assassins after us?! Why?" Goku's grin immediately dropped and she unconsciously moved closer to Sanzo "Why are they after us if you used to train them, Hakkai? And why are they after Sanzo and Gojyo?"

The three men exchanged glances before either of them spoke up "Goku," Sanzo started "What we're going to tell you has to be kept a secret. I know you don't like them, but you can **not** tell anyone else about this." Goku frowned slightly but nodded her head "Three years ago, something happened at the organization. It involved Hakkai."

"What happened?"

"I killed everyone there." Hakkai said sternly and without hesitation, Goku's eyes went wide "The organization was split into three different sections and I managed to sweep out two of them, leading up to a thousand people, including women and children." Goku furrowed her brows "I didn't take mercy."

"But…" Goku said softly "Why did you kill all those people?"

Hakkai's green eyes darkened as he replied "Because they killed my sister." Once again Goku moved closer to Sanzo bringing their bodies into contact (It took all of Sanzo's effort to concentrate on their conversation instead of what his hormones were urging him to do). Hakkai continued "I thought I had killed everyone but a few managed to escape and the people I did kill put up a good fight. I didn't walk of that place unharmed. In fact I would have died had Gojyo not helped me."

Goku turned her gaze towards Gojyo who gave a cheeky grin "I told you I helped him out of a tight spot." He chortled.

"Yeah," Sanzo snorted "But now we're just in more trouble with the assassins after us."

"Is that why you've been running this whole time?"

"No," Hakkai replied "Not at first. Initially, there were only monks after us."

"Just monks? How come?"

"Because I was with Gojyo and Hakkai." Sanzo informed "I agreed with what Hakkai did. The organization is unnecessary, seeing as how Catholicism no longer needed Crusaders." He caught Goku's gaze "That's what the organization is, Goku. Hakkai's murders gave me the initiative to completely end the Crusades. I spoke to John Paul II who was the Pope at the time, and he agreed with me. We set up a trial date for Hakkai and I went on a search for him. I heard a rumor that he was staying with some nobody-"

"Hey!" Gojyo snapped.

"-In a town not far from my church." Sanzo continued as if Gojyo hadn't spoken "Which proved to be true. However, when I went to receive him some monks decided to attack us and we ended up running away on this journey. Then we found you." He stared at Goku solemnly "But instead of the monks following us there are assassins."

"And nobody knows who hired them," Hakkai added "What **is** known is that they are to kill us and anyone with us."

"Hakkai," Sanzo started but the green eyed man continued speaking.

"That means _you too, _Goku." Hakkai's eyes narrowed.

"_Hakkai_."

"So you have to make the choice yourself." Hakkai continued "Do you want to stay with us or do you want to leave?" The room grew silent with everyone's eyes on the girl. She frowned and stared back defiantly.

"I'm staying" she replied firmly "I don't ever plan on leaving you guys." She smiled broadly up at Sanzo.

"Well, since she's staying with us," Hakkai cleared his throat "That makes our destination even more important."

"Where are we going?" Goku asked.

"Japan." Sanzo answered "We have to get our fake passports and stuff before we get on a plane, though. The next town we're headed to is Vegas. And our flight is for June twentieth."

"That's my birthday!" Goku squealed.

"Well, then there's your birthday gift." Gojyo smirked "Freedom."

-Keep it gay! Keep it gay! Keep it Gay!-

_Meanwhile…_

Across town, in the only up-scale hotel, Ni Jian Yi dismissed all of his body guards as a young boy of sixteen walked into the room. Ni surveyed him and grinned suggestively. The boy sneered.

"My ass is not for sale, pervert." He snarled as he took the money offered "You said you didn't want these people dead, correct?" Ni nodded and walked to the mini bar.

"I just want them brought to me." He sighed and poured himself a drink "After I finish with them you may kill them."

"Well," the boy cleared his throat and walked towards the door "I'll take my leave of you. The subjects will be in your possession soon-alive. Have a good night, Jian Yi and good luck with your campaign." he left the politician alone in the room, still standing at the mini bar. He swirled his drink around thoughtfully, a wicked grin spread across his face.

Yes, the assassins were expensive, but they were far more skilled than any monk could be. So they were definitely worth it. Taking a sip of his drink, he walked towards the window and peered out at the world below. "_Insignificant mongrels."_ He thought bitterly _"Why they have so much power over this world is beyond me."_ He opened the window and let the fresh air caress his face.

He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully at the people down below. Yes, the people were so insignificant yet so vital to his power, it was contradictory and ironic all in its own. He sighed and took another swig from the glass. He was halfway out the window, still staring down at the people. How many reincarnations had he gone through at this point?

He scrunched up his nose thoughtfully. Several. And he remembered most of them. Yes indeed, he did. And he remembered the four people he was always seeking: Sanzo, Hakkai, Gojyo and Goku. But he sought them out for a different reason this lifetime over. This time it was because he knew exactly what he needed from them to gain complete power. "_Well, I only need one of them…_" another cheeky grin broke out across his face and he sighed.

"Yes, my dear Son Goku…" he held his hand with the glass outside the window, directly over the people "My sights are set on you and I always get what I want…no matter how many lives it takes."

With another grin he dropped the glass and watched as it fell.

-YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssssssss?-

AN: sighs alright. I apologize for taking so long with this chapter…but it took A LOT out of me. Seriously. I apologize about this chapter's suckiness. But it needed to be made. I promise they will all get better. I do. Thanks so much for sticking around. I welcome all criticism.

The quotations from this chapter are from "The Producers"

I highly recommend the movie if you haven't seen it.


	6. Losing Monkey

The Story of the Recalled Souls

The Story of the Recalled Souls

Chapter 6: Losing Monkey

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or Journey to the West

-Who you were in fight club is not who you were in the rest of the world-

Cho Lee, whose new name became Hakkai, was been born in 1985 in New Jersey to David and Kai Lee. Cho was the younger of two children, his sister Kai Lahn was a year older. In the fall of 1986, David and Kai were tragically killed in a car crash resulting in Cho and Kai Lahn being sent to orphanages. However, they were separated after three years in St. Paul's Catholic Orphanage when Kai Lahn was adopted.

Growing up in the orphanage, Cho strived to score the highest in all of his classes in hopes of one day becoming a teacher. At the age of fourteen, the clergymen of St. Paul recognized Cho's amazing intellect and chose to place him in a top secret assassination program called "The Crusaders." In the program Cho displayed extremely high levels of intelligence and erudition, quickly earning a high rank among the assassins.

By the age of seventeen Cho Lee was the top assassin of the Crusaders and soon befell the title of Assassin Instructor, teaching and training over five hundred students of The Crusaders Program before his next birthday. At the age of eighteen Cho Lee discovered that his long, lost older sister Kai Lahn also lived in the Crusaders' underground dwelling as a nurse.

After reuniting with his sister, the siblings soon discovered they were in love with one another and quickly gave in to their desires. They hid the fact they were siblings for well over a year, however, a curious and jealous rival of Cho investigated the two and discerned the truth. The rival immediately reported their sin to the Clergymen who instructed the entire force of the Crusaders to dispose of Kai Lahn, but leave Cho because, after all, he was their top instructor.

Upon discovery of his brutally raped and murdered lover/sister, Cho went into a rampage, killing nearly everyone in two whole brigades of the Crusaders' underground habitat. One man managed to attack Cho, leaving the teacher with near-fatal wound in his belly. Said man escaped and revealed to the third unit of what had happened. An immediate search was set out for Cho Lee.

Cho managed to find his way into a nearby alley, in the downtown area, having lost a large amount of blood he lay dying in the gutter. As fate should have it, however, a young man named Joe Gonzalez happened to be passing by after a late night of poker at a local bar. Spotting the bleeding man, Joe carried Cho to his home, where he called upon a street doctor to help Cho.

Cho lay in a heavy coma for two weeks before finally waking up in Joe's apartment. The two quickly became good friends over the next few months, Cho's polite and sophisticated lifestyle perfectly complimented Joe's rash and crude standard of living. They soon became lovers.

And at the current age of twenty-two, Gojyo and Hakkai remained lovers. Entangled in one another's arms, Hakkai sighed as a bead of sweat trickled down his neck. He turned to face Gojyo beside him, whose soft sighs let the brunette know his lover was fast asleep. Hakkai breathed again and glanced at the digital clock next to the bed, it was three in the morning.

He extracted himself from Gojyo's spooning grip, careful not to awake him, and wandered to the bathroom. After silently closing the door Hakkai heard another door open and close. He frown crossed his brow when he realized it had been Sanzo and Goku's door. For a brief moment Hakkai seriously considered ignoring it and continuing his own business.

But the devoted friend and ex-teacher couldn't disregard an alien person may have snuck into their room. So, he immediately strode across the dark room and into the dimly lit hallway, which turned out to be empty except for the sound of retreating footsteps. The brunette followed the sound all the way downstairs and out the front door of the hotel where he spotted a small figure walking across the parking lot. At the sound of Hakkai approaching, the figure turned around and instantaneously stopped its stroll.

Hakkai moved quickly towards the person and only a few feet away realized who it was. "Goku?" he breathed, quickening his pace towards the girl "What are you doing out here? Do you know what time it is?"

Goku s rubbed her eye "Yeah, but I needed something…" she mumbled slowly.

"Well, you need to come back inside right now." Hakkai ordered in a firm yet caring voice "It's dangerous to be out here. Especially after what we told you! Why would you do something so reckless?" Goku shifted her feet and scratched the back of her head.

"Uhm…" she looked around as if someone else would be up at that time "Well, you see…" Hakkai's cross stare immediately changed to concern at her tone.

"Is something wrong? Did something happen?" He narrowed his eyes as if staring hard enough would help him find something wrong with her. "Did Sanzo…"

"NO! Nothing happened like that. I'm fine…well…kinda…but it's not bad…" Goku gave an attempt at a nonchalant laugh that ended up sounding like a high pitched, nervous shriek "It's just that uhm…"

"Yes?" Goku stared around again before answering in a hushed whisper.

"My red ninja is here." Hakkai furrowed his brow and blinked twice.

"…_What_?"

"My _red ninja_…you know…" Hakkai shook his head again "Come on, Hakkai…you're a grown man! Don't tell me nobody ever taught you about the red ninja!"

"I'm afraid not…" Goku gave an impatient growl. She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by someone yelling her name.

"GOKU!" It was Sanzo, followed by a tired and hassled looking Gojyo, both of whom were marching through the hotel door angrily.

"Uh-oh…" Goku breathed "We're in trouble…"

"Hakkai!" Sanzo snarled as he and the red head approached them "What the **fuck** is going on? Goku, what are you doing out of the room? Do you have any fucking clue what time it is?"

"Hakkai already berated me for being out this late." Goku sighed "And I was **trying** to explain to him what I was doing, but apparently **nobody** ever told him about the red ninja!" The three men stared at her "Don't tell me nobody told you guys either!"

"We don't have time for this shit." Gojyo snapped angrily "Do you have any fucking clue what I just went through? I'm sleeping peacefully when all of a sudden, this fucker-" he shot an angry glare at Sanzo "-comes **bursting** through my door screaming 'where are Goku and Hakkai?' in my fucking ear! Do you have any idea what it's like being dragged out of your bed, jerked awake while having an awesome dream about Hakkai and a-"

"GOJYO!" Hakkai cut the red-head off.

"WELL, SHIT!" Gojyo snapped "It WAS an awesome dream, it's the one I always tell you about…you know…where you-"

"If you say another word, Gojyo I will put a bullet through your fucking skull." Sanzo snarled "Now, Goku move your ass, or so help me GOD, I will-"

"Heeey, I just have to go the store to get what I need!" Goku whined "So don't get mad! And Hakkai was just trying to stop me, anyway, so I-"

"Get your ass back to the room. We seriously don't have time for this shit." Sanzo cut off.

"But I _need_ to go to the store."

"What the fuck for?"

"I already said!" Goku replied impatiently "My red ninja!"

"What the hell is a red ninja?" Gojyo snorted.

Goku sighed "Every girl is born with a red ninja inside her. The red ninja is a lost member of an elite ninja organization from another dimension who was sent to live inside a girl for eternity as punishment for sleeping with the king's daughter. The red ninja sleeps for a long time while the girl grows up, but when she reaches a certain age the red ninja wakes up and is enraged to find himself in an alien place. So, once a month he attempts to escape his fleshy prison by hacking away with his sword, causing the girl to bleed from her _down there_ area. And it just so happens to be that time of the month for me. My red ninja is a douche bag. So I get really bad stomach cramps."

The three men stared at the girl flabbergasted, she blinked up at them. "What?" Sanzo closed his eyes and breathed slowly three times before answering.

"When I open my eyes in a few seconds the first thing I better see id your ass running back into the hotel, or I will-"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Goku squealed as she ran towards the hotel with Gojyo at her heels (not sure if Sanzo had been talking to him too.) At the sound of the door quickly opening and then slamming shut, Sanzo opened his eyes and heaved an angry sigh. His violet eyes swiveled to the man standing next to him.

Hakkai stared back, impassive to his companion's glare he merely smiled politely. Sanzo's eyes narrowed in the dark and he continued to glare at the green eyed man. They remained quietly staring at one another for several minutes before either of them spoke. "We should get back inside, Sanzo." Hakkai said softly "We have to get up in a few hours."

Goku was back in her pajamas and sitting up in the large bed waiting for Sanzo when the blonde returned to their room. Their eyes locked for a moment. "Are you mad at me, Sanzo?" she asked innocently as he began to light a cigarette "I really didn't mean to cause any trouble…"

"I don't want you to be alone with Hakkai, Goku." Sanzo interjected, she gave him a questioning stare "I'll explain later, but for now, get some sleep. We'll stop by the store tomorrow morning." Goku sighed but complied by lying down and pulling the covers up to her chin. Sanzo remained standing and clicked the light off.

"Are you not coming back to bed?" she asked.

"I will in a bit." Sanzo replied quickly, Goku mumbled something he assumed was an "ok." He waited in the dark for her to fall asleep, the only light being the soft orange hue from his cigarette. He smoked at least three before Goku's breathing finally became steady and even as she fell asleep. When he was sure she was dead to the world the blonde crept into bed next to her, using the top blanket for cover, not wanting their skin to come into contact for fear of losing his already brittle self control.

He lay awake, staring at the vast darkness of the room, wishing for some sort of distraction from his thoughts while he awaited slumber. It was always these few moments before sleep overtook him that his past normally came up to bother him. Those pesky memories of his father dying, the familiar people who he usually remembered but _knew_ he had never met before flashed across him mind, too. Those ridiculous guys, who all wore sad, yet determined smiles. They aggravated him to the point where he wanted to take his gun out and shut shoot the next person who crossed his path.

There was one man with hair and eyes so deeply red that Sanzo almost thought he was bleeding. Then there was that man with the monocle and the emerald eyes who was smiling all the fucking time, just like Hakkai. And finally there was the tan boy with the golden eyes, much like Goku's…but this boy was…so devoted and so determined to stay next to Sanzo. And all three of them knew him by name, but not _Marcus_…no, they knew him by _Sanzo_.

The blonde scowled up at the ceiling, angry at himself for allowing his mind to wander. Goku's shifting snapped him from his dark thoughts, she'd just rolled over in her sleep. Sanzo could barely make out the outline of the young girl, he could hear her soft sighs and the beating of both their hearts and, like a lullaby, these factors helped him drift to a peaceful sleep.

-Self-Improvement is masturbation…and self-destruction-

The alarm woke Sanzo and Goku up three hours later with a loud, shrill, annoying drone. The buzzer was so loud Goku screamed and fell out of bed, Sanzo sat straight up and cocked his gun, aiming it at nothing. He frowned sleepily and stared blankly as Goku stood up from the floor, massaging the bump on her head. "You okay?" Sanzo mumbled receiving a nod "Get dressed and wake up Hakkai and Gojyo."

"What are you gunna be doing?" Goku whined.

"Sleeping." Sanzo replied while lying back down on the surprisingly comfortable bed, Goku glared at him "Well, I didn't wake up at three o'clock in the fucking morning because I wanted to, Goku. That was someone else's fault, now go do what I told you."

"Dammit," Goku griped as she gathered her clothes and stomped loudly to the bathroom to change. When she emerged in the fresh clothes she stomped out of their room, slamming the door on her way out. She found Hakkai and Gojyo already awake and dressed in their room, Gojyo was eating breakfast. An empty bowl sat next to him, along with the box of cereal and a small milk carton. Hakkai looked over the map, which was spread out on the already made bed, double checking their route to Vegas, which would only take 11 hours _if_ they kept on track and didn't stop anywhere. But knowing themselves all too well, they knew it would take at least two days.

Goku finished her cereal quickly and returned to her room to wake up Sanzo. "Sanzo, Hakkai says you need to wake up now." She informed, shaking the blonde who grunted and sat up. "We have to leave soon, Hakkai said so. So…yeah…uh…" As Sanzo's vision became clearer he noticed the tanned girl's cheeks going slightly pink, she wasn't looking at him either.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing." Goku replied quickly "I'm going back to Hakkai and Gojyo's room…get dressed…and…uh…stuff." And with those words she left the room, leaving a very confused Sanzo. He remained confused until he sauntered to the bathroom, where he realized he'd just showed the young girl the teepee he was hiding in his pants. He groaned and smacked his forehead.

-AAH! OK, OK, OK, I got it. I got it. I got it. Shit, I lost it.-

An hour and a half later, the four companions were in the jeep, on their way to Nevada, seated in their usual arrangement: Hakkai driving with Sanzo in shotgun while Goku and Gojyo sat in the backseat, crowded as customary. Gojyo's knee fell next to Goku's. She pushed it away making an impatient sound.

Sanzo glanced in the rearview mirror, which he had positioned so he could see Goku behind him (she had no idea he was doing this). Gojyo's knee fell next to hers again. "Stop it." Goku hissed angrily, kicking his leg roughly.

"OW!" Gojyo bellowed "That fucking hurts, you moron!"

"Well, then, quit touching me!" Goku snapped back.

"I can't help it, I'm used to stretching my legs back here."

"Well, then get _un_-used to it!"

"Why don't you make me?"

"I don't make trash, I recycle it!"

"It's burn it, you retard."

"Why would I burn trash? That's ignorant and bad for the environment!"

"FUCK the environment!"

"You probably can't even SPELL environment!"

"Fuck you, you stupid little monkey!"

"Bastard, perverted water sprite!"

Sanzo turned around in his seat and hit the two over the head "SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP." He snarled "I swear to GOD I will THROW the two of you out of this car and leave you both in the desert for the vultures to pick at until you are nothing but skeletons." Goku and Gojyo shrunk into their seats, settling back into silence. A few hours passed and Goku announced she needed to use the restroom.

"I agree," Hakkai chuckled "I think it's time we all had a break. We're coming up on a city. We can stop there for a bit and stretch our legs. Do you agree, Sanzo?" Sanzo grunted what they assumed was a 'yes.' Thirty minutes later they were all walking around in a large, Mexican flea market that Goku and Gojyo (both being Hispanic) were well acquainted with.

"I LOVE these things!" Gojyo cackled as they passed a booth of nothing but crap, including ghetto toys, cosmetic contacts, gaudy jewelry and dirty playing cards. Sanzo wrinkled his nose at the smell.

"It's disgusting, why are we here again?" he grumbled.

"Because bazaars like this are AMAZING!" Goku giggled "They have all sorts of crap for good prices! And the food is absolutely awesome! Ooh, roasted corn! Sanzo, can I have some? Please, please, can I? Huh?"

"Fine." Sanzo replied as the bouncy girl half-dragged him towards the roasted corn stall, leaving Gojyo and Hakkai amidst the crowd. Hakkai chuckled and pulled Gojyo away from the swarm of people to a less packed area.

"You're enjoying this place, aren't you?" he laughed, receiving a grin from his lover.

"Damn skippy, I am." Gojyo chortled "I haven't been to one of these since I was kid! My grandma used to take me all the time. She'd find the coolest shit, man. Once, we found this old-ass doll from when she was a little kid. She bought it for, like, three bucks. We looked up its worth online- 5,000 bucks. Man, she bought me so much candy that day…I think I ended up throwing it all up."

He let out a heart-felt laugh as Goku and Sanzo met up with them, both carrying two corn-on-the-cobs covered in butter, salt, parmesan and chili powder. Goku handed one of them to Gojyo "I knew you'd want one." She grinned "I haven't had one of these since I was thirteen!"

"Look," Sanzo spoke up "Goku is saying she wants to look around, but I want to get back on the road soon. I'm giving everyone three hours, that's it. Then we'll meet back at the entrance and find a hotel for the night. We'll leave tomorrow morning at seven a.m. sharp. That's final."

"Sounds good to me." Hakkai chimed brightly "I'm sure this will be a lovely little adventure! I've never before been surrounded by so many…ah…"

"Mexicans?" Gojyo and Goku asked simultaneously, Hakkai chuckled nervously.

"So, ahem, we'll split up here I assume?" he obviously wanted to change the subject and divert attention from him to something else.

"Yeah," Sanzo started "we'll meet up in three hours-"

"Hey, Sanzo?" Goku tugged on the sleeve of his shirt "I don't want to sound paranoid or anything…but…I've noticed that there are three guys dressed up like ninjas…and they're all staring at us."

"What?" Sanzo glanced around the crowded building, among the many people were indeed three ninja-like men staring at them intently. "Well, _shit_."

"The crest on their bandanas…" Hakkai muttered "It's the Crusaders' crest. The assassins, but there's only three…they weren't expecting Goku to be with us. I think it would be best if we all split up right now. Run, if you can. Cause some attention, that'll drive them away. I cannot _believe_ they haven't been briefed in concealment, _idiots_. Obviously from the third brigade, I never taught them…"

"Now is not the time to be proud, Hakkai." Gojyo growled "We have to haul-ass. Three hours, yeah?" Sanzo nodded.

"Goku, make sure to show up at the front in exactly three hours." Sanzo said lowly, gripping the girl's arm "I don't know if the assassins will follow you, but they just might. So make sure to run a lot. Get rid of your pursuer. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Goku replied, her teeth chattering as her adrenaline began pumping "I'll see you guys in a bit."

"You better!" Gojyo chortled "Or we'll leave your ass here!" The last image Sanzo saw before he began his run in the opposite direction of everyone else was Goku's grinning face as she waved and began running.

"I will! See you guys!" she called as she began sprinting as much as possible through the crowd of people.

"You better show up, Goku…" Sanzo muttered to himself. As he ran around, weaving in-between the crowded building, bumping into one person after the other, glancing over his shoulder he noticed the assassin was still following him. It took about three hours to lose his pursuer in the mass of people, choosing to hide in a smelly, shit-covered stall of the women's restroom. Luckily nobody ever walked in. he figured that was because everyone _knew_ the bathroom was covered in feces.

After what seemed an eternity, Sanzo exited the shit-hole of a bathroom and made headed to the entryway, where he assumed Goku, Gojyo and Hakkai would be waiting for him. He could just picture it now: Goku's tearful eyes as she ran towards him, Hakkai's relieved smile and Gojyo's stupid grin and smart-ass aphorisms. Sanzo would more than likely punch him in the gut and walk to the car with Goku at his side.

But that wasn't what was waiting for him. Yes, Hakkai and Gojyo were there, but Goku was nowhere to be seen. Gojyo was puffing on a cigarette that must have been his tenth one judging from the spent cigarette butts scattered around his feet. Hakkai's expression lightened, yet still remained anxious, when eh spotted the blonde. "Oh, Sanzo," He breathed "Thank God you're okay. We were so worried-"

"Where's Goku?" Sanzo interjected roughly, the other two exchanged stares.

"We thought she might be with you…" Hakkai replied "She never showed up." Sanzo's violet eyes narrowed to nearly cat-like slits.

"Well, _fuck_."

-You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.-

They spent the rest of the day searching for Goku, checking every corner of the building, even the restrooms. But Goku was nowhere to be found and they couldn't continue their search due to the stalls and mini-stores closing down. The "store police," as Gojyo called them, were ushering everyone out. Gojyo, Hakkai and Sanzo all waited at the entrance in hopes of spotting Goku.

But to no avail.

The sun was set and the moon was rising, the temperature had dropped. "Well, fuck me sideways." Gojyo grumbled "You think those bastards got her?" Sanzo closed his eyes and concentrated on the little voice, _her_ voice. It wasn't bubbly, but it wasn't frightened, it was merely _calm_. Had she been kidnapped she would be in hysterics, crying, sobbing, screaming his name and he would have been able to feel the disturbance as soon as she'd been taken.

She was worried, she was okay, just excruciatingly lost. "No, she's alright." Sanzo answered.

"How can you be sure?" Hakkai asked tentatively.

"Let's find a hotel," Sanzo ignored his question completely, not really wanting to have to explain the whole 'telekinetic' bull shit story to his companions "Goku will try and find us, she'll check the nearest hotels. Let's get moving." And with that he walked to the car, the other two followed silently.

_'I hope you're right, Sanzo.'_ Hakkai thought to himself with a sigh. He took one last glance over his shoulder, as if expecting Goku to come running out of the building with a grin on her face.

"Move your ass, Hakkai."

But she didn't.

-You are the same, decaying, organic matter as everything else.-

AN: Alright, everyone. I am SO sorry for taking so long with this chapter update. I took a small break, and then BAM! I realized it had been months since I had written anything. And I am SORRY. So here is the new chapter! Yaay! Even though…it's a cliffhanger. I'll try and write soon. And you will love it!! HAHA! Yay?

Thanks so much for reading…

Remember: Reviews are love!


	7. Lost and Found Again

The Story of the Recalled Souls

The Story of the Recalled Souls

Chapter seven: Lost and found…again

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or Journey to the West.

-First rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club-

Sanzo, Gojyo and Hakkai waited in the hotel nearest to the bazaar where they had been separated from Goku. The three men were situated in various places around the room, Gojyo in front of the TV while Hakkai was standing at the window keeping an eye out for Goku and Sanzo was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper and smoking a cigarette, attempting to give the appearance of calm. However, his jiggling leg underneath the table betrayed his calm demeanor. It was obvious that he was anxious for the young girl to return.

Hakkai stole glances at the brooding Sanzo from the corner of his eye, every now and then catching the blonde staring at the clock. Hakkai also noted Sanzo wasn't really reading the newspaper, his violet eyes remained stationary, staring blankly at the same page. He was clearly too worried to remember to turn the page every so often to keep up the farce of reading.

Hakkai would have found Sanzo's situation almost cute if Goku hadn't been missing. He sighed and forgot to turn back to the window leaving himself wide open for Sanzo to catch his stare. Violet eyes narrowed under a scowling brow.

"Do you have something to _say_, Hakkai?" he growled lowly.

Hakkai's face went pink "Oh, no." He denied artlessly "No, everything is alright." A blonde brow rose.

Sanzo drew a lungful from his cigarette and then tapped the ashes off in the ashtray as a long stream of smoke billowed from his thin lips. Gojyo stared between the two men, who were currently engaged in a battle of stare-off. "Uh…" he cleared his throat, catching their attention "Any sign of the monkey, Hakkai?"

"Oh," Hakkai blinked several times before turning back towards the window "No, not yet…I'm getting worried. What if she…the assassins shoot first and ask questions later. That's how we were trained…that's how I trained every one-"

"Would you stop with the bull-shit, already?!" Sanzo snapped angrily, snubbing out his cigarette "You are not **in** the Crusaders anymore, there is no _'we'_ when it comes to you and the assassins. So, **shut the fuck up**." Hakkai frowned.

"Sanzo, it may be true that I am no longer an assassin but that's how I was **raised**."

"That's just an excuse." Sanzo replied coldly "If you **want** to remain an assassin then let me know so I can just end the shit here because I'm not going to be risking my life for a common murderer." Hakkai's nostrils flared, he opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the telephone ringing.

The three men stared at it for several rings before anybody answered it. Gojyo was the one to pick it up "Uh…hello?"

_"…"_

"Hello?" A loud click and an empty dial tone let Gojyo know the person had hung up "What the hell?"

"What happened? Who was it?" Hakkai breathed.

"Nobody," Gojyo snorted and hung the phone up "as soon as I said 'hello' they hung up. Fucking weirdoes."

"Do you think it could have been Goku, Sanzo?" Hakkai turned to the blonde. Sanzo shrugged and picked the paper up again.

-Second rule of Fight Club is _**you do not talk about Fight Club**_.-

Goku sighed and walked around the outside of the building again, hoping that her companions had waited for her, that they were still there, somewhere. Praying that they hadn't left her there. It had taken a while to shake off her pursuer. The man dressed like a ninja had stuck close and followed her even closer. She'd lost him by ducking down amongst the crowd, risking being trampled to death. But she had lost him. She hid behind a closed booth for a while, waiting for the right time to walk to the entrance.

She made it to the entrance with no qualms, she sat down outside and waited for a long time. But nobody showed up.

What Goku hadn't realized was that there were _several_ entryways into the large building and the one she was supposed to meet Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo at was on the opposite side. It didn't occur to her until well after the sun had set that she may have been in the wrong place. When she did realize it she felt like kicking her own ass. "I have to be one of the biggest morons in the world." She groaned out loud as she walked around the entire outside of the building.

There were a few vendors loading up their trucks when she came to the front parking lot of the actual meeting place, the vendors stared at her as she walked by. "Hey, are you looking for those guys that were here earlier? The ones with the green jeep?" one of them shouted.

"Yeah, did you see them?" she asked walking towards them.

"They were here for a long time." Another man answered "But then they left. They got in their car and drove away." Goku bit her lip "I think they went to the hotel up the road, though."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you don't want to walk there, though. It's dangerous for a little girl to walk by herself at night." Goku's eyebrow rose.

"I'm not a little girl." She snapped making the men laugh.

"Hey, look I have the hotel's number in my phone." The oldest man chuckled, handing her his cell phone "You can call and see if they're there." Goku took the phone with thanks. The concierge answered and directed her to the room Goku had to ask for Sanzo's other fake name: Daniel Pierson.

"…Hello?" it was Gojyo's voice, Goku heaved a sigh of relief.

"Gojyo! Thank god I got a hold of you! Is everyone alright?" she asked excitedly receiving no answer "Gojyo?" She frowned and pulled the phone away from her ear to stare at it. She almost felt like crying at what she discovered. The phone's battery had died. "Son of a bitch." She groaned and handed the phone back to the man. They offered her a ride to the hotel but she politely refused.

Instead she began her walk to the nearest pay phone, she had some quarters in her pocket and the number memorized. She'd asked a guy at a gas station who just laughed at her and said "A pay phone? Hun, I haven't seen a pay phone in a long time."

"Well can I just use your phone?" The man laughed at her again and told her to get out "Jack ass." It took her about two hours to find the pay phone, she guessed it was after ten o'clock. She dialed the number quickly and was once again connected to the room. The phone rang twice before anyone picked up.

"H-hello?" It was Hakkai, and he sounded tired. She must have woken him up.

"Hakkai?! It's Goku!"

"Goku?!" His voice was hushed "Oh, God, I'm so glad to hear from you. Are you alright? What happened?"

She gave a small, nervous laugh "I'm fine. I just….uh…I was mixed-up with the meeting place. But everything is okay. How are you guys? Did I wake you up?"

"Yes, you did. But it's fine. I'm glad you did. Where are you? I'll come pick you up, right now." Goku told him her location and ended the conversation to await her pick up.

-Third rule of Fight Club-Someone yells "Stop!" goes limp, taps out, the fight is over.-

Hakkai hung up the phone and heaved an enormous sigh of relief. A few hours ago Sanzo had announced he was going to bed and retreated to his own room. Gojyo and Hakkai went to bed not too long after. But Hakkai had remained awake for over an hour, still hoping that Goku would come back, knock on their door quietly and whisper "Is Sanzo asleep?" but she never did. So Hakkai had fallen asleep only to be awoken by the telephone about an hour later.

He crept out of bed and quietly dressed, grabbed his car keys and wallet and snuck out of the room. As he walked down the hallway he thought about how relieved and angry Sanzo would be the next morning when Goku would have to explain why she hadn't met them. Hakkai sighed, he could picture it now: Goku whining her apologies in that cute little voice of hers while Sanzo gave her his famous "Death Glare," with his arms crossed over his chest, cigarette ashes falling freely as he smoked his cigarette like it was air.

It certainly would be an event to go through. Because when Sanzo was angry everyone was a target, Hakkai himself might even catch a backlash of anger from the soon to be furious blonde. Especially since he was going to pick Goku up without telling him so…_"Wait…"_

Hakkai stopped suddenly, a thought occurring to him. Sanzo had refused to send Goku home, but had he really asked her if she wanted to go home? Truly asked her? An idea began forming.

He could just send her home himself and never tell Gojyo or Sanzo that she had come back. He didn't have to tell them that she had called, woken him up and asked to be picked up. So if Hakkai dropped her off at the train station with money to get back to her home…they would never know. If they woke up in the middle of the night and asked him where he'd gone he could say he simply went out to look for her.

It was so easy it almost frightened Hakkai. But it was necessary. A seventeen year old girl, somebody's _baby_, had no business traveling across the world, let alone the country, with three grown and dangerous men. No business at all. Hakkai put himself in the shoes of Goku's father, just for an instant, and felt as if his whole world had collapsed. Goku was a sweet little girl, with a brilliant mind and a bright smile. And to lose her would be like…losing an entire world.

It wasn't fair to her parents, Hakkai decided as he got in the jeep. He would send her home.

-Fourth rule—Only 2 guys to a fight. Fifth Rule: One fight at a time, fellas.-

When the familiar jeep pulled up beside the pay phone booth where Goku had taken refuge from the strange men walking the street, a wave of pure elation swept over her. She ran out to the car and jumped right into the passenger seat, not even opening the door. Hakkai gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, but Goku assumed it was just because he was tired. The brunette man drew her in for a quick hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright." He breathed.

"I'm glad you guys are, too!" Goku smiled and pulled away "Is Sanzo super mad at me?" Hakkai shook his head and got back on the road. They remained silent for a long time as the drove. Goku stared at all the passing buildings as they got onto the highway. She already knew the way.

Head west on the highway, exit Millbrook Rd, drive about a mile on the service road and the hotel would be on the right. It was simple enough. But the only way to the hotel had been taking the highway and she wasn't stupid enough to attempt to walk past cars going well over the 60 mph speed limit. That was just _asking_ to be killed.

But Hakkai didn't take the exit, he didn't even slow down. Goku frowned a bit but figured he might know another way. It wasn't until after they passed the hotel itself that she remembered something Sanzo had told her just the day before: "I don't want you to be alone with Hakkai."

_"Uh-oh." _Goku thought as panic began to slowly raise "Hey…Hakkai?"

"Yes, Goku?"

"Uh…We just passed the hotel."

"Yes, I know." Goku's golden eyes went wide as panic began to reach its peak.

"Why?"

"Because," Hakkai replied with another empty smile "We're not going to the hotel." Okay. Panic officially had set in. Goku began to silently unbuckle her seatbelt, she just might have to "jump ship."

"W-where are we going?" she asked tentatively.

"You'll see."

"Can't you just…_tell_ me where we're going?"

"I don't want to spoil the surprise." Goku' glanced at the speedometer: 60 mph. If she fell the right way, she could manage to escape with a sprain…some bruises and minor cuts. If she fell the wrong way…well…bye-bye monkey. Goku's tongue darted across her lips.

_"Protect your head_._"_ She told herself, her vision began to blur as tears pricked her eyes _"Oh, Sanzo…I wish I had listened to you. I should have made him wake you up…Sanzo…I'm scared…__**Sanzo**__."_ And without another moments' hesitation, Goku opened the door of the speeding jeep and tumbled out of the car.

"Goku!!" Hakkai screeched to a halt in the middle of the freeway just in time to catch the image of Goku rolling off the road and into a ditch. He pulled the car to the shoulder and ran after her. "Goku! Where are you?"

Movement in the periphery of his eye caught his attention, he turned to see Goku crawling out of the large ditch. She glanced behind her shoulder to see Hakkai following her, she broke into a run when she hit smooth ground. She was running towards several lit buildings. "Goku! Come back!"

Goku let out a loud, choking sob as she ran. Her leg was bleeding profusely. She didn't think anything was broken, but she had definitely cut her leg when she tumbled out of the vehicle. Every step awoke new pain. But fear and adrenaline kept her running. If she could just make it to one of the buildings…she might just be able to lose him. But she hadn't anticipated that Hakkai might just be able to catch up with her. When she glanced behind her shoulder again, she let out a scream of horror mixed with surprise.

The thing about Goku was that she had always been an unusually fast runner. It was almost inhuman how fast she could run, even when she was injured she could out-run just about anyone. So to see Hakkai catching up with her scared the hell out of her.

She forced herself to pick up speed when she hit the smooth concrete of the main road that led to the buildings. Cars screeched into stops, some swerved around her as she ran past. But Hakkai was still able to keep up. Some people got out of their cars and Goku had momentarily considered begging them for help, but bearing in mind Hakkai's past Goku dismissed the idea. Instead she kept running.

She turned a corner of a dark alleyway, she could see a brightly lit building, packed with people on the other side of the alley. She stopped for a minute to let out another choked sob, she gripped her leg and tried to catch her breath as more sobs raked through her body. She heard heavy footsteps and then "Goku!"

The young girl gasped and forced herself to run again, just to the building, she could make it. She was almost there. "Goku!" she was so tired, she couldn't run anymore but she kept going, she was exhausted and her leg was swelling up. Hakkai's footsteps were closer. "Goku, stop! Please!"

"Leave me alone!" she choked, she was almost there "Stay away! Agh-" she fell in the middle of the street. Hakkai stopped in his tracks and screamed, Goku wouldn't be able to get away in time. She was going to be run over. He closed his eyes and looked away, waiting to hear her scream. But she didn't.

He opened his eyes to find the car had stopped only inches from where she lay. Hakkai ran towards her and picked her up, she made no inclination to move away from him. Upon closer inspection Hakkai realized Goku's eyes were glazed over, as if she weren't seeing him. She was covered in blood and mud.

"Goku!" he shook her slightly, snapping her from her daze. She let out a loud scream, she tried to push Hakkai away. "Goku, stop, stop! I'm not going to hurt you!" She began to sob uncontrollably.

"I want Sanzo!" she cried "I just want Sanzo! Take me to Sanzo! He told me to stay away from you, but I didn't listen! I just want Sanzo…"

"That's who we want, too." Goku's choked sobs stopped at the voice. Hakkai turned around slowly. "Hello!" It was the assassins.

-Sixth Rule-No shirts, no shoes. Seventh rule-Fights will go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule- If this is your first night at Fight Club…you _have_ to fight.-

AN: Hello everyone!

Another cliffhanger. I'm sorry. But…well…I love to fuck with you guys. Think of it as…my love…for YOU. Haha. I'm sorry. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the last one! I'll be going on vacation on Saturday…but I'll be taking my laptop so, hopefully, I'll be able to get some writing done. Mmkay? Mmkay.

The quotes from this chapter and the last chapter were from if you haven't guessed Fight Club. And if you have not seen that movie YOU NEED TO. Yep.

I'll try and write/post soon.

Thanks so much for reading…

Remember: Reviews are love!


	8. FacetoFace

The Story of the Recalled Souls

The Story of the Recalled Souls

Chapter eight: Face-to-Face

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki or Journey to the West.

-Now, the dream of this life must end…and so, too, must the dreamers within it.-

Goku and Hakkai stared in disbelief at the three young boys in front of them, who couldn't be much older than Goku. The one who had spoken was holding a gun aimed at Hakkai. Hakkai gulped and stared at the gun that was being waved in his face: it was strange looking and Hakkai was unfamiliar with it, meaning that it had to be a new weapon the Crusaders had started using recently; it was all white with the Crusaders' emblem engraved on the handle. This gun was much more different than Sanzo's.

Goku shuddered next to Hakkai, whether it was from pain, fear or a combination: he didn't know. But it did manage to catch the his attention. He gave her a small smile. "It's going to be alright, Goku." he said softly "I'll protect you."

Her golden eyes peered up at him in confusion, wasn't he just trying to get rid of her? But, despite her perplexity, she nodded. Hakkai let her go gingerly, ensuring her leg was alright, before he stood up and faced the assassins. The one with the gun grinned wickedly and brandished the weapon.

"So…" he cackled "You must be Cho Lee, right?" Hakkai made no inclination to answer "Aw, what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" The other two boys gave laughs very much like a hyena's. "You know, from the stories, I figured you would look a lot tougher…I had no idea you would look like such a pansy-ass bitch. And that girl, right there…" he gave a whistle "I almost hit her with my car! She must not be very bright…"

"Your MOM!" Goku shouted at the boy, who turned the gun towards her menacingly.

"What the hell did you just say to me, you little tramp?"

"I said your MOM. What are you deaf? Did that stupid whore drop you when you were a baby?"

"FUCK. YOU."

"FUCK _YOU_!"

"DO YOU NOT REALIZE THAT I'M HOLDING A GUN TO YOUR FUCKING HEAD, RETARD?"

"I'VE HAD BIGGER MEN HOLD GUNS TO MY HEAD! YOU'RE NOTHING COMPARED TO SANZO! YOU _AND_ YOUR UN-DROPPED BALLS CAN GO TO HELL!"

"MY BALLS HAVE _SO_ DROPPED!"

"THAT'S WHAT YOUR MOM SAID ABOUT _HER_ BALLS, TOO!"

_"Okay," _Hakkai decided with a sigh _"They're definitely children…"_ He took the opportunity of the angry boy's distraction to attack. With one smooth kick, he knocked the gun out of the assassin's hand, a sickening crack told them Hakkai had just broken his wrist.

"Whoa," Goku breathed, her eyebrows raised "Hakkai's bad _ass._" The boy Hakkai had attacked growled with animal-like fury as he retaliated with his good hand. One of the other boys made a grab for the fallen gun but Goku kicked it away with her undamaged leg, the boy screamed in anger and dove for Goku. She rolled over, barely dodging the attack.

She struggled to her feet and took a defensive stance as the assassin stood up, shaking his head from the impact it had made with the concrete. He glared daggers at her "You stupid, little...I'll kill you with my bare hands!"

"Bring it, bitch!" Goku taunted, the assassin screamed angrily and threw a fist at her, she gasped and turned her head his fist missed her by a mere inch. She hit back, landing a punch to his jaw, causing him to stumble back. Despite her small stature, Goku was actually very strong. He licked the blood from his lip and went after her again.

Hakkai, meanwhile, was engaged in a heavy fight. He hadn't been in a fight in a long time so he was struggling. The boy he was fighting was tough, but not nearly as strong as Hakkai. The green-eyed man had landed several hard, bone-shattering blows. But the assassin had gotten a few, weak punches in as well. Hakkai glanced over his shoulder to find Goku fighting one of the other assassins; she was obviously winning, even with her cut leg.

But wait…weren't there _three_ assassins? There was one missing, where was-

_Bang._

The sound of a gun stopped everyone in their tracks. Hakkai stumbled a bit after a moment of shock, pain racking through his right shoulder, he glanced at it. He expected to see blood, but was surprised to find a thin feather protruding instead. With his left hand he pulled the feather out: it wasn't a feather after all, it was a dart. A _poisoned_ dart. The third assassin had, at some point, grabbed the gun and waited for the perfect chance to shoot Hakkai.

Hakkai stumbled again, and gasped. His right arm was numb. "Shit…" he fell to one knee as the entire right part became numb, if he hadn't known better he would have thought he didn't even _have_ a right region to his body.

"Hakkai!" Goku's screamed shrilly as she jump kicked the assassin to the face, rendering him unconscious. The third assassin shot again, missing Goku by a few centimeters as she ran towards Hakkai, he growled and shot again, instead he hit the first assassin in the back of the head. The hit boy fell to the ground immediately, foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling up into his head.

"Hakkai, Hakkai!" The assassin shot and missed again. Hakkai groaned and slipped into unconsciousness in Goku's arms. "HAKKAI!" she sobbed, shaking him violently "You suck!" she screamed at the assassin "You killed him! You suck! You suck! You suck, suck, suck, suck, SUCK!"

"Don't get your panties all up in a bunch!" The assassin yelled "I didn't kill him! I just knocked him out for a few hours. And if you hold still, I can do the same to you and take you to my boss…Now…hold still."

Goku's golden eyes widened, she was _so _screwed. The boy grinned wickedly and aimed his gun at her, his finger on the trigger. But just as he was about to fire, there was another loud "Bang!" and the gun was shot from his hand. They turned in the direction of the fired gunshot to see Gojyo and Sanzo walking towards them, Sanzo's gun raised and at the ready with a feral glare in his eyes.

A grin spread across Goku's face. "Sanzo!" she cried joyfully, she turned back to the assassin "You're _so_ going to die…" the assassin glared at her and walked backwards quickly before turning around and running towards the car that was still in the middle of the street, he had to dodge Sanzo's bullets. Sanzo emptied out the round in his gun as the car sped away.

Gojyo hurried towards Goku and Hakkai, who was still lying in her arms. As soon as the red head reached them, Goku ran to Sanzo's side, he was still watching the fading lights of the assassin's car. When the young girl approached him, he turned sharply, almost violently, to gaze at her. She let out a small yelp and stepped back a bit. "_Goku,_" he said slowly.

"I'm sorry!" she squealed, holding her hands to her chest tightly "I didn't mean to cause any trouble! I won't do it again, I promise, Sanzo!" She awaited the impact of Sanzo's hand against her head, much like he always hit Gojyo, but the blow never came. Instead, Sanzo drew her close to his chest, in a sloppy, one-armed embrace. With her face nestled against his chest, Goku could feel his racing heartbeat.

"I heard your voice…" Sanzo whispered hoarsely, Goku's eyes widened "That's how I knew where you were."

"Sanzo…" she stared up at him with an expression Sanzo could easily read…it was the same as before…when he'd had her pressed up against a wall, with their lips so close. He bent his neck towards her, she stood up on her tip-toes, and they were _so close…_

"Sanzo! Goku!" Gojyo's voice broke them away, Sanzo growled and let go of Goku to walk towards Gojyo and the fallen Hakkai, so he didn't see the dejected look break across Goku's face. She sighed and limped after him, the adrenaline that had given her the ability to fight had drained from her, and it was only her pride that kept her standing. She was extremely dizzy from loss of blood.

With closer inspection she found a long, four and a-half inch gash running up the back of her calf. She grimaced, but didn't let Sanzo or Gojyo see. "What the fuck happened to him?" Gojyo groaned.

"It's those." Goku answered, pointing to a feather-dart lying on the ground "The assassin said they just knock you out for a few hours. But I'm sure they make your breathing really shallow. This guy," she kicked the still body of the assassin with a dart in his head "might have some brain damage …if he survives." She picked up a dart and inspected it.

"This has to be some sort of potent junk." She gazed at it a little longer before breaking it to release the fine powder into her open hand. She dabbed her little finger and tasted it. "Oh, this is definitely a Benzodiazepine, and a really high dosage at that." She stared at the fallen assassin and then felt his pulse "Yeah, he's dead."

"WHAT?!" Gojyo's eyes nearly popped out of his skull "Are you fuckin' kidding me?!"

"Noooo," Goku frowned a bit "why would I joke about something like this? I mean, with such a high dosage, a shot into the arm could knock you out for a day. So to take a shot to the head, the _back_ of the head, is fatal. This guy's dead. Dead as a doornail…or is it door knob? Hm…" Sanzo strode forward and felt the assassin's pulse.

"Yeah," he agreed "Goku's right. This kid is gone."

"Fuck…" Gojyo hissed "What to do we do?" Goku glanced at the building and had to double-take. The figures inside the building hadn't been people at all…they were mannequins. It was a department store.

"Hey, Sanzo…"

"What?"

"Don't assassins come _back_ for their fallen?" Goku began to step away from the dead body.

"Most…of the time…" Sanzo glanced at the building and realized what it was that Goku was staring at: their reflection. Although there were no cars behind them and no people inside the building their reflection revealed several figures moving quickly in the distance…towards them. "Gojyo, pick up Hakkai and let's _go_."

"What's happening?"

"Just _move._" Gojyo complied, swinging Hakkai over his shoulder and running after Sanzo and Goku. "Where is the car?"

"It's still on the highway," She replied over her shoulder, adrenaline began pumping again, allowing her to run. Though at a slow pace, it was still enough to get some distance between she and the dead body.

"Well, lead us to it!" Sanzo growled.

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"Don't be a smart ass, or I swear to GOD-"

"OKAAAAAY!"

-But now is the end of days…and **I AM THE REAPER**.-

Sanzo had to drive the jeep, seeing as how Hakkai was passed out and neither Goku nor Gojyo knew how to drive a stick. Gojyo was sitting in the backseat with Hakkai resting in his arms while Goku sat shotgun. They were currently driving away from the hotel, having grabbed their bags and checked out early. Goku was very quiet, whether it was from fear or exhaustion or both, Sanzo had no idea.

But it didn't matter because he could hear her thoughts in his own mind, her ideas and thoughts were swimming…a bit too loudly for his liking. "Goku," he cleared his throat suddenly, making her jump "why weren't you at the meeting place at that bazaar?"

"Uhm…" Goku cleared her own throat "what?" Sanzo threw a death glare her way, making her bite her blood covered lip. "Well…I _was_ at the meeting place…but…I was kind of…uhm…in the wrong one."

"What?"

"Well, there were a bunch of entrances and I got all turned around from running away from the assassin that I ended up going to the entrance on the opposite side of the building!" Goku said quickly, her voice high pitched and shaking "I didn't do it intentionally…I promise…and I won't ever do it again…I'm really sorry…"

Sanzo gave a curt nod in reply "What happened with you and Hakkai? How did the assassins find you?"

"Uhm…What?"

"GODAMMIT, GOKU!"

"Agh, don't yell!" Goku squealed "You make me nervous when you yell!"

"Then just tell me what happened…" Sanzo growled. Goku then replied by telling him the entire story of how she realized she was in the wrong area at the bazaar, then how she met the men in the parking lot, how she called and was cut off, how she wandered around looking for a pay phone and she continued like that uninterrupted until she got to the part where she jumped out of the car on the highway.

"Wait, stop talking." Sanzo ordered sharply "Hakkai never said where he was taking you?"

"Right." Goku answered.

"Gojyo wouldn't hurt you, retard." Gojyo snapped from the back.

"WELL!" Goku yelled "He scared me with that 'I don't want to spoil the surprise' bull shit, so what was I supposed to think? And Sanzo told me not to be alone with him, so then I thought 'well, maybe he's going to rape me or something' and then I started freaking out even MORE. And after I jumped out of the jeep he comes running after me like a crazy person!"

"When did the assassins find you?" Sanzo interjected before Gojyo could retort.

"They almost ran me over." Goku explained "I was running through those streets back there and because my leg is all messed up I lost my balance and fell down in the middle of the road, the assassins were driving and-"

"Wait, what's wrong with your leg?"

"Uhm…what?"

"GOKU!" this time he didn't warn her, he just smacked her upside the head.

"HEY!" she yelled, gripping her skull "I'm injured! I cut my leg when I rolled out onto the highway…" Sanzo sighed.

"We'll patch it up when we reach the nearest town." He informed. The rest of the ride remained quiet, a few hours later he glanced in the rearview mirror to find Gojyo asleep. Goku was wide awake, her thoughts were buzzing again. "Goku, what's the matter?"

"Hm?" she had been staring lazily out the window, leaning on her right hand "Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking…"

"How's your leg?"

"Oh…" she pulled up her torn pant leg "It still hurts but the bleeding has stopped. I'll be alright…" she sighed and turned back to the window, the sun was beginning to rise.

"Go to sleep, Goku."

"But I'm not sleepy…" she replied "I'll wait to sleep when we stop driving…"

"You should rest now in case the assassins catch up with us."

"…But who's going to keep _you_ awake?"

Ah. That's why she was staying up. "I'll be fine. Just go to sleep."

"…Okay," she said grudgingly "you promise you'll be alright?" Sanzo smirked.

"Yeah."

-Your faith brings death! You're alone in this limbo…and God is not here.-

When Goku's eyes fluttered opened several hours later it was to find that she was being carried by Sanzo. She gave a small, questioning grunt. "It's fine, go back to sleep." Sanzo told her gently. Goku sighed and did as told. When she next woke she was laying in bed in yet another hotel room. Sanzo was nowhere to be seen. She sat upright, stiff from the night before.

"Sanzo?" she quietly stood up from the bed, leaning all her weight on her good leg, he injured one was pretty much useless at that point. She hopped to the door and poked her head outside into the hallway. "Sanzo?" A noise to her left made her turn; Sanzo was walking up the stairs with a grocery bag.

"What the hell are you doing, Goku? Get back in the room." Goku pouted but complied. He helped her back to the bed (she noticed there was only one) once inside.

"Goku," he cleared his throat "You need to wash up so I can bandage your leg."

"Okay," she replied, Sanzo then helped her to the bathroom where a hot bath was already waiting. She noted that her clothes were folded neatly on the sink.

"Just call me when you're finished and I'll help you back to the…I'll help you." He shut the door quickly. Goku frowned slightly but didn't question his obvious effort to avoid the word "bed." She bathed quickly, and dressed in the cotton shorts and long-sleeved shirt (that was too big on her because it was Sanzo's). When she finished she called for Sanzo, who helped her back to the bed.

Sanzo worked carefully when bandaging up Goku's leg. He made sure to avoid eye contact with her and made DAMN sure that she didn't see his pink tinged cheeks. Seeing her in his own shirt was a bit too luring…maybe he should have given her the tank-top she normally slept in. _'Wait…no…too much skin.'_

Goku watched him with interest, she cocked her head to the side curiously. She remained silent while he dressed injury and only spoke when he was finished. "Sanzo..?"

"What, Goku?"

"Are you still mad at me?"

"I was never mad at _you_." He answered.

"Then who are you mad at?"

"Don't worry about it."

"…Don't say that." Goku pouted again "It makes me worry even more. I don't like it when you're all quiet…I can't hear you like you can hear me…"

"What?" he scowled in perplexity.

"You say you can hear my voice…and that you know what I'm thinking or how I feel most of the time. But…I can't do any of that."

_Oh._

It had never occurred to Sanzo that the voice thing might only be a one-way connection. Or maybe he just hadn't ever really thought about it…whatever the reason, he didn't mind. Goku should never have to deal with what was going on in his mind.

"Does it really bother you?"

"More than I though it would…" she admitted "At first I felt really bad because I know it must be annoying to hear someone's voice in your head all the time…especially if you've never met them before. But after a while I was kind of sad that I couldn't read _your_ mind." Sanzo didn't answer immediately.

What could he say?

"I don't mind hearing you." He replied quietly, after a moment "I'm almost glad that I do, sometimes…most times. That's how I knew where to find you last night. Whenever your emotions are running high, like if you're scared or extremely happy or really sad, I can literally see, feel and hear everything you do. Though the images are blurry." Goku blinked slowly.

"That's…" she started "Really weird." She grinned, receiving a snort from Sanzo. "But I guess it's kind of comforting." Sanzo gave a small smile in return.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I wonder why you can hear me…"

"I don't know, Goku."

"Hm…" she bit her lip thoughtfully as an idea began forming "Hey! Can you tell what I'm thinking right now?"

"'My leg hurts.'"

"Whoa! Weird!"

"I was just guessing."

"Aaw, no fun…" Sanzo snorted again. Goku sighed and stared around the room, absentmindedly scratching her bandaged leg, loosening the bindings.

"Goku, stop scratching your leg." Sanzo ordered, he sat on the bed next to her and began to fix her bandages. When he looked up again their faces were close…extremely close…much closer than before. Gold met violet as their eyes locked.

Neither of them realized their breathing had quickened and their hearts had both begun to beat like a hummingbird's. Sanzo leaned forward and brought a hand to her cheek. Goku's eyes fluttered closed, and Sanzo closed the short space between them by placing his lips to hers. His eyes closed at the touch, her hands worked their way up to his chest.

The kiss was simple and chaste, but after a few moments they were lying on their sides, arms wrapped around one another as Sanzo delved his tongue into the moist cave of her mouth. She moaned lightly, the vibration racked through him and he pulled her even closer. His hand tangled in her hair, their chests pressed against one another, he took complete dominance over the kiss by rolling atop her. He pulled away from hr mouth to leave a trail of heated kisses across her cheek, to her ear and then down her neck.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gasped for breath. "S-Sanzo…" He licked the pulse in her throat, causing her to shiver. His hand slipped under the shirt to her smooth belly, she shuddered. "Sanzo…" he continued kissing her neck, scraping his teeth along her hot flesh. She shuddered again…his hand began to move upwards. She squeezed her eyes shut and squealed.

"Sanzo…uhn…" he didn't answer, he was losing control…he brought his mouth back to hers as his hand continued to snake upwards, slowly. Suddenly she broke the kiss and gripped his wrist. "Sanzo, STOP!" He did.

He realized she was breathing much too quickly and much too shallow. Their eyes locked again. "Goku…I'm-…" she shook her head, cutting off his apology.

"No," she whispered "I'm sorry…I've never done anything like this before…so I'm scared…" Sanzo closed his eyes and sighed, he removed his hand quickly, sitting up he ran a hand through his hair. She sat up as well and began to button the shirt, at some point during their make-out session the top three buttons had been undone. Sanzo stood up.

"I'm sorry, don't go!" the desperation in her voice made him turn around to stare at her "I…I'm just new to this type of thing so I-"

"You're fine, Goku." He kissed the top her head "I just confused myself."

"Do…do you not…"

"Do I not what?"

"Do you not want me? Am I no good because I'm too young?" Sanzo pulled her into another one-armed embrace.

"Don't be stupid." He soothed "It's just that…you're young." Goku opened her mouth "But that doesn't mean I don't want you. I just want you to truly want _this_. I want you to become comfortable with it…I won't take you if you're not ready. I promise." Goku sighed against his chest "And I won't take you until after you're eighteen."

"Sanzo…" she whispered "Thank you…thank you for understanding."

Sanzo smirked and closed his eyes "Yeah," he sighed "Now go to sleep."

"…Okay."

-Mother is God in the eyes of a child-

AN: WOW. I didn't think I was going to be able to get through this chapter…but I did it! You have no idea what I went through to finish it. Haha. The drugs Goku mentioned earlier actually do exist and you can read about them on Wikipedia. The quotes in this chapter are from Silent Hill: another awesome movie that you SHOULD DEFINITIELY see if you have not.

Vacation was lovely. Although I really do prefer Texas to California…I loved Disneyland! Oh my gosh! It was so awesome! There should be a Disneyland in Texas! They could call it "Disneytown!" It would be cute! And I would really like that way better than the stockyards…or six flags. Haha. Yes, so I would really love to know what you think about the whole…couple thing. It was a little awkward for me since I normally do Sanzo/Goku pairings when they're both male. This whole story has been an adventure for me! I've enjoyed the ride so far, though! And I hope that you all have, as well! From here on out the story will get much more interesting and will have a lot more uhm…"X" rated things that will only be on mediaminer or aff (although I've yet to post it there) there will also be a lot of dirty (not that kind) action.

I look forward to those kick-ass scenes. Writing a Gojyo-Hakkai "scene" is new for me as well…I've never really done any work with them. But I really look forward to it! Well! I hope everyone has a lovely time…and with summer coming up I will have a lot more time to write. I'm taking a break from college. So…yeah. More writing! Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on some of my other fanfics.

Well, I hope you all liked the new chapter! Please review! If you have any questions or whatever, don't hesitate to leave it in a review or just e-mail me.

Thanks so much for reading…

Remember: Reviews are love!


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